Veni Vindi Vici
by coopermidnight
Summary: [This story is being rewritten and republished tumblr. The account name is the same. This version is obsolete.] A young hero goes through an increasingly loose version of the game's story, gathering allies as well as doubts along the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Intro**

"Rookie, protect…the oracle."

The man collapsed to the floor; his final sight was the brown, furry creature that had pierced him with an arrow just moments before. It and two of its friends stared down the remaining people in the room. A petite, long haired, blonde girl clad in a long, white dress stood frozen in fear, and a sturdier looking figure covered head to toe in battle gear took a spot in front of her. A big cap like the Kobolds wore covered all but a determined pair of eyes; the rest was a mixture of chain mail and leather clothing.

The wooden house shook, and the sound of the bell in its tower fixed on top of the roof rang throughout the place. A giant spider was on the rooftop, and no one knew how much destruction was left to be done before the whole place came down. A wooden pillar came loose and struck the oracle. She whimpered and fell to the ground helplessly. Her companion looked back to check for breathing and then charged at the creatures.

_Wonder what got into the Gnolls_, the rookie briefly thought before slicing each of them a few times. The rookie grabbed the oracle in both hands and hustled up the floors of the house, clearing more Gnolls on the way. They appeared from the air out of nowhere; the only warning was some black mist forming. Nevertheless, they were not a particularly bright bunch, and transporting the oracle was a simple task. That was until…

Along came the spider. With a tight grip on the limp girl, the rookie reached the rooftop and saw the formerly friendly giant, white spider. It set its sights upon the two and made a loud hissing noise as its eyes glowed with a scary, bright red. The oracle originally wanted to go up there to calm it down, but that was no longer an option. The rookie laid the girl on the ground and took a deep breath before running to confront the beast.

It hissed again. It lifted up one of its huge front legs, and the rookie rolled out of the way to be missed by inches as the leg smashed a hole in the roof.

"Fire the ballistae!" a voice shouted from the ground.

Suddenly, dozens of boulders and huge arrows pierced the building's roof as well as the spider. The rookie held a small, wooden shield up and charged, taking a swing at an exposed leg. The spider hissed in pain and started to scurry up to the large bell looming over them.

The rookie looked up, unsure of what to do. The uncertainty soon disappeared; a new fleet of arrows shot into the sky, and one hit its mark as the spider was halfway up the tower. It staggered and eventually took a plunge back down to the roof. Landing with a booming _THUD_, it shook the house enough to seal its fate; the beams supporting the bell cracked under pressure.

Falling… Falling… The bell's final ring was heard as it flattened the spider's thorax, and the spider made its final hiss as its life slowly leaked from it.

"No!"

The rookie looked back. The oracle had apparently woken up just in time to see the damage, and she rushed to its side with tears already coming out. She pitifully heaved her body weight into the bell time and time again, trying to free her friend. The spider only writhed in pain while the golden bell stayed in place.

"Who did this to you?" she whispered to it, stroking one of its hairy legs. She gasped a few moments later, shaking her head in disbelief. She continued to try to comfort it, but she ultimately sobbed at its side when its head tilted back to rest on the ground permanently.

The rookie remained still, heart racing, as soldiers appeared from behind and ran toward the oracle. The voices went in and out of audibility.

"You … and faced the spider … protected …"  
"… all alone … alright?"  
"The oracle … we didn't know … could have saved …"

It was all overwhelming. The rookie looked around, head in hand, and then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Who'd you expect?**

The blackness started to fade, and muffled sounds filled the air. The rookie's eyes had started to open, greeted by a blurry mess. After blinking a few times, the scene started to come into focus. The blonde girl from before hovered right in the middle of the field of view.

"Oh ahh waahh hawn!"

The rookie shook out of a daze.

"Are you okay?" The noises finally turned into spoken language.

"Ughn..."

The rookie yanked off the Kobold-inspired head garment, revealing a slightly tanned, feminine face. She ran her gloved fingers through her neck-length, auburn hair and made more disgruntled noises.

"Oh my!" the girl said.  
"Oh my, indeed," a gruff, but calm, male voice said from somewhere else in the room.

The rookie turned her head as far as she could manage to look at the corner of the room. A middle-aged, handsome man with short, brown hair stood up from a chair. Although a frown seemed to be permanently fixed on his face, he carried a comforting warmth with him.

"I guess there are girls who want to fight, after all," he said.  
"Perhaps you'll finally relax your recruiting standards a bit, captain Aodhan," the blonde girl said sweetly.  
"Perhaps we can all relax one day, Tieve. It pains me each time I recruit a new set of boys," he looked at the half-asleep rookie. "I'd much prefer not having to at all."

Tieve gave him a wishful look before turning back to the rookie.

"Thank you, by the way," she said. "I'd be part of the wreckage at the bell tower if it weren't for you."  
"Just doin' m'job," the rookie rubbed the side of her head.  
"What's your name?" Aodhan asked.  
"I'm Bapple."  
"Well, Bapple, it's good to formally meet you," he extended a hand. "I'd be honored to keep you among my forces."  
"Sure thing, boss," Bapple smirked, grabbing his hand firmly. "As long as I get my own room somewhere in this town. No more stinky boys in cramped quarters, please."

**Later...**

Bapple had changed out of her armor into a lighter, more casual tunic and skirt loaned to her by Tieve. She walked outside, stretching and massaging her joints, and took a relieved breath. She felt drawn to the forge in the corner of town.

Inside, the sound of steel on steel and rising steam echoed throughout the room. A large, burly man with jet black hair and matching facial hair stood behind a brick platform, pounding away at what was undoubtedly going to be a weapon.

"Mornin'!" he shouted over his own noise. "Haven't seen you around before. You must be the talk of the town."

He set down his equipment and walked over. He reached out to shake her hand, but noticed both of his hands were filthy; he offered a smile instead.

"I must be," Bapple said. "I'm getting acquainted with this place."  
"Well I hope I'm the first of the regular townfolk to welcome you to our humble little Colhen. I'm the blacksmith if you haven't figured. I can make armor, weapons, and pretty much anything that goes _CLANK_! Haha!"  
"Good to know," Bapple said.  
"Well, well!" a new voice came from the back of the room.

A pale, slender arm reached from behind a curtain and pulled it aside. A woman with volumed, dark red hair came out from behind it. At first glance, she seemed to have on more jewelery than clothing. Her chest section was barely covered with a few large pieces of cloth tied together around her torso, and a dress of exotic fur covered what was below her exposed midriff.

"So this is the girl who got into the Crimson Blades, huh? She's a cutie," she looked at Ferghus, pointing at Bapple. "Probably just another slab of meat with a mouth hole, though. Guess we'll see."

Bapple was inexplicably humbled and couldn't figure out a proper reaction.

"Strong, silent type, huh? Well, I don't guess you've had many chances to talk for a while. Anyway, perfect timing. When you're done playing meet and greet, how about you do me a favor? I'll have gold for you, of course."

Bapple looked at her, dumbfounded, and only nodded.

"Get me some black Gnoll leather," she said, not having waited long for an answer. "I'm sure you're crafty enough to find it." With that, she disappeared back behind the curtain.

Ferghus chuckled.

"That's Shayla. Sometimes you can feel her personality from the other side of town."

**Back outside...**

Tieve had suggested visiting the general store first, as it was statistically the most positive place in town. However, Bapple presently had no interest in the more orthodox parts of town. She headed for a lone building in the corner opposite that of the forge.

_Creeeeak_, went the door.

"Hello? Can I help you, or will you leave?"  
"Er, hi. I'm Bapple. I'm meeting everyone in town."  
"Ah, the one who killed Wenshardt."  
"Who?"  
"The big, white spider. Hard to miss."  
"Oh, right."  
"What is this place?" Bapple asked as she held up a large book.  
"Put that down. This is my laboratory. I offer services typical of a magician... to those who need them. You don't seem to need them right now."  
"Okay, okay. What's your name, at least?"  
"I'm Brynn. Goodbye."

Bapple walked back outside, feeling slightly less confident this time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Feminine touch**

Bapple walked quietly into the mercenary outpost. It was the largest building in town, housing the Crimson Blades before and after their assigned battles. Although the general store was about twenty seconds away, the outpost had also become a pub, of sorts.

Aodhan leaned against a counter, talking to a shorter man in an iron helmet. A girl with long, red hair and a fairly plain face sat on a stool, reading a book. An uglier guy, in a tunic like Bapple's, with very short, brown hair, stood behind the girl and irritated her.

Bapple was first greeted by a woman who couldn't have been in anything other than the military. She stood up perfectly straight and looked Bapple straight in the eyes with an unwavering, emotionless expression.

"Hello, mercenary," she said. "I am Gwynn of the Royal Army in Rocheste."  
"Hey, I'm Bapple," Bapple continued walking over to Aodhan.

Gwynn cleared her throat, agitated. Bapple turned back around.

"As I was about to say, I'm supervising the activities over here in Colhen while the Gnoll situation is being investigated. In addition to whatever nonsense you usually do with these Blades, you will report directly to me with anything concerning a mission."  
"Good to know," Bapple said.

Gwynn looked visibly annoyed. She held a few fingers to her forehead and regained composure.

"Right. This is your first mission. Gnolls have been attacking humans, and we want to know why. You are to go to the Perilous Ruins and return with an answer. A list of probable encounters, including a stronger Gnoll named Shadow Fang, is in the documents."

Gwynn shoved a folder into Bapple's arms.

"I suggest you take some Blades with you to minimize the risk. Surely you're popular enough by now to take your pick freely. Congratulations, by the way. I don't normally approve of breaking the rules, but... Anyway, get this done quickly."

Bapple's confused expression turned into a small smile.

"You got it," she answered, giving a half-hearted salute with the hand that wasn't scrambling to hold the overflowing folder.

**Outside...**

Bapple had briefly looked at the documents before tossing the folder on to her bed and returning otudoors. She looked around and saw some familiar faces. A few boys from the Crimson Blade training platoon she'd been in were by the market board. One was getting tormented.

"Give it back!" he shouted.  
"Reach for it!" one of the other two shouted.

_Ugh_, Bapple thought. _Put some boys together and they're like monkeys in a cage. Then again, I joined to get away from my own kind._

"Hi boys," Bapple said coyly as she walked up to them, "what're we up to?"

The ringleader dropped the object of interest and spun around at the sound of her voice.

"Hey, you're the one who pretended to be a guy!"  
"Yeah. I'll never know how I managed to act like _that_ much of a moron."  
"We were just messin'!" the other pleaded.  
"Whatever," she folded her arms. "I was gonna ask you guys to go along with me to Perilous Ruins, but I'm glad I waited."

The third boy got to his feet and quickly exited the scene.

"We could do it!" the oldest one protested.  
"You can't play keep-away with a Gnoll. It'll just kill you," Bapple said flatly.  
"Yeah, right!" he squeezed his own bicep. "I've been working out!"  
"You smell like it, but you don't look like it."

The other one giggled until receiving a very agitated look.

"How about this," Bapple started. "If you can arm wrestle me and win, you can come along."  
"Ooh, getting a date has never been so easy!"

Bapple said nothing and only lied down on her stomach. The boy followed suit, and soon they were at eye level on the ground. They each planted an elbow in the dirt and clasped the other's hand.

"Don't hold back," Bapple winked. "Count it," she said to the other.  
"5, 4, go!" he shouted gleefully.

Bapple's hand moved 45 degrees to the side before coming to a dead halt as she looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"C'mon," she siad, "gimme all you got."

He grunted a bit, squinting and quivering as he pushed on her hand as hard as he could. Bapple looked in another direction, still holding her hand steady, and slowly started to push it back to the neutral position. Their arms remained upright for a few moments until she slammed his hand against the ground and he cried out.

"Ow!" he yelped, massaging his arm.

Bapple got up, dusted herself off, and held out her hand.

"Well, you were confident for a while. Girls _do_ like confidence."

He kept lying on the ground, sulking.

"Hmph," Bapple walked over to the forge aimlessly, finding Shayla immediately to her left.  
"Quite a show you put on there!" she grinned. "You remembered how to talk, too. Maybe I'll get some of that sweet, sassy voice some day."

Bapple stood there, yet again unsure of what to say.

"A girl can dream," Shayla rolled her eyes. "Anyway, sounds like you're gonna get me that leather, so that's good.. I enjoy the company, but don't come back without the leather. Got it?" She disappeared into her room.

Bapple walked back outside, feeling slightly less confident.

**Hours later...**

Bapple sat on the bench outside the inn, sipping some ice-cold water as a hen and its chicks sat at her feet. She reached down and stroked one of the little yellow clucklets gently, irritating the mother a bit. A shadow appeared from behind her, covering the birds, and she turned around to see the boy from earlier.

"Hi," he said.  
"Hi," she guarded her eyes from the sun.  
"I, er, well, I'm Dima. My name I mean. I'm sorry for earlier."  
"I'm Bapple."  
"Are you mad?"  
"No, just hot. You can keep standing there and giving me shade if you like."  
"So can we be cool?"  
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," she pointed to the third boy from earlier, who was now walking into the outpost.  
"Oh, right," he said.

Dima stood uncomfortably in his position, examining Bapple from behind. She paid no mind to him, only sipping her water.

"Why'd you do it?"  
"Do what?"  
"Why'd you cover yourself up and join the Blades?"  
"Oh. Long story. Maybe I'll tell you some other time."

Bapple heard Dima slump. She sighed quietly.

"Y'know, 'cause it's too hot right now. How about you go right that wrong?"  
"Yeah, okay. Hey, do you still need some help for the mission?"

Bapple turned around and studied him.

"Yeah, I do."  
"Can Maks and I come?"  
"If you think you can handle it."  
"Woohoo! You bet! This'll be the best date you've ever had!"  
"Don't push your luck."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Perilous Ruins**

A few hours had passed, and Bapple had briefed herself with the documents from Gwynn. Gnolls were attacking humans, and they were to find out why.

"Dima!" she shouted right behind him, startling him. "Oh, there you are. Grab Tweedledee and Tweedledum and let's head to Perilous Ruins, yeah?"  
"Sure thing," he turned to his friends, "you guys ready?"  
"I can't go tonight," one said before scurrying off.  
"Hm!" Bapple said to herself. "We need a fourth."

The bullied boy from earlier entered stage right.

"I'll come along!"  
"It's settled, then!" Bapple said happily, inferring that Dima had done his job correctly.

The four headed for the docks outside the town.

"So what're your names? I'm Bapple, but that seems to be a given lately."  
"I'm Gav," said the newest member.  
"And I'm Maks," said Dima's friend.  
"I'm Dima, but you can call me handsome," Dima said, putting his arm around Bapple and looking at her.

Bapple peeled his arm off of her.

"There's a free boat," she said, "I'll go snag it."

Minutes later, the four of them were assembled on the boat.

"How do you make this thing start?" Dima asked, frustrated.  
"I don't know. You're the big, strong man here," Bapple yawned.

She leaned on a board that stuck out of the ground, and then it moved with a "quack" sound, apparently setting the boat on its course.

"Looks like Bapple's the big, strong man once again," Gav whispered, elbowing Maks.  
"I heard that!" both Bapple and Dima shouted.

**At Perilous Ruins…**

They carefully stepped off the boat and into an old looking path filled with pillars and rocks. Bapple took out the map, included in the folder, to study it. She held it up and tried to determine their current whereabouts, but, as soon as she lowered it from her face, she noticed the other three were already blindly swinging at everything.

"I have a feeling this will be a recurring theme," she muttered to herself as she ran to catch up.

After slicing some worm creatures sticking out of the ground, a drawbridge in its upright position put them at a standstill.

"We could climb to the top of it and then jump across the gap!" suggested Maks.  
"No, you idiot, let's just go down through the little canyon," Dima answered.

Bapple sighed.

"I think pretending to be tornadoes threw your brains around a bit too much," she said. Bapple stuck her sword out and gently knifed at a rope on one side of the drawbridge until it snapped.  
"Oooh," the others said. Dima gave a quick, careless chop to the rope on the other side, and the bridge came down with a boom.

On the other side of the bridge were some familiar looking creatures; Bapple recognized them from the floors of the bell tower. She charged ahead of the others this time and started to make quick work of them.

"Don't get hurt!" Dima shouted, running after her.

Bapple rolled her eyes and continued through the passage. The rest of the path was straightforward; Gnolls appeared, and the team sliced them up. They found themselves in a more rectangular room, and, after its last inhabitant was motionless on the ground, the entire place shook.

In the corner of the room, a black mist appeared; from it came a bigger, nastier version of the Gnolls they'd fought.

"This must be Shadow Fang," Bapple said. "Be careful, he might have a brain."

Shadow Fang approached them and took a swing with his wooden club. Bapple rolled out of the way, and Dima and Maks leapt backwards, but Gav got slapped silly.

"Owwww," he said, slightly dazed.

The two guys started swinging madly, and Bapple took slower, more calculated swings. Shadow Fang's attention turned to her and he took another swing. _Clank!_ went her shield. Gav had apparently recovered from his mistake and heaved a pillar piece toward the battle. He lifted it up with all his might and dropped it on Shadow Fang, temporarily knocking the earth, wind, and fire out of their enemy. It was the opening they needed; they all carelessly attacked him until he stumbled, fell, and gave up.

Their constant slashing had caused lots of pieces of him to fly in all directions during the fight; Bapple secured some fragments of his leathery skin as a prize.

"How do we get back?" Maks asked as soon as the celebration ended.  
"I hope one of you left a breadcrumb trail," Bapple said, heading back the way they came from.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Homecoming**

"Thanks for the help, you guys. I'm going to go deliver the booty now if you all don't mind," Bapple said to her group. She was already walking off before any of them could twist her words.

_Creeeeak_. The doors in the town needed some oil. Bapple peeked inside the blacksmith shop; Ferghus was pounding away, shaping a new tool, and paid her little mind.

"Shayla?" she asked nervously. "Are you here?"  
"Of course I'm here!" Shayla said, popping up from behind the counter Ferghus had always been at. Bapple jumped. "Anxious, are we? Relax. I trust you have my leather?"

Bapple slowly nodded, pulling the fresh pieces out of her pockets. Shayla snatched the goods from her hands and inspected it closely.

"Very good. Put out your hands."

Bapple did so, and Shayla dropped a handful of gold coins into them.

"That was pretty quick for a newcomer. You seem reliable enough. Want a new errand?"

Bapple started to lift her head, but Shayla interrupted her.

"Don't do that again; anything but the nodding. Come to my quarters, and I will tell you what your errand is," she said sharply. With that, she turned around and strutted into her room, leather in hand.

Bapple looked to Ferghus for some kind of encouraging words or gesture, but he remained occupied. She shrugged and crept across the room to the curtain covered doorway. After pulling it just a little to the side, Shayla said, almost at an unnecessary volume, "Come on in already!"

The room was decorated (and littered) with lots of strange clothes and accessories, but Bapple tried to keep her eyes on Shayla.

"You'll have to excuse the mess. I don't have a reason for it, but you'll have to excuse it," Shayla said. After a pause, "That was a joke, by the way. Feel free to laugh." She sat down on what looked like a bench. "Your next errand is in my hand," she held her fist face down in the air for Bapple to catch something from.

Bapple reached and opened her hand. Shayla grabbed it, yanked, and had Bapple sitting next to her in one swift move.

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to tell me how your trip went. No more, no less."

Bapple blinked, unsure what to make of this.

"Sweetie, you're scared of me for some reason. That was fine when we first met, but not at this point. I'm not gonna hurt ya."  
"You'll just play tug-of-war with my body," Bapple said without thinking. Shayla laughed.  
"There you go! Now tell me everything. Spare no details."

She took a minute to get going, but soon the words started coming. Before she knew it, Bapple was on her feet, reenacting scenes from the boat and ruins. She talked about the duck sound, how no one but her wanted to plan their assault, and how Dima incessantly hit on her.

"How long are you gonna tease that kid? You'd be a cute couple. I don't know about functional, but definitely cute."  
"I really don't like him like that. He's somewhere between a pal and an annoying brother."  
"Fair enough. That doesn't mean you can't tease him, though!"

Bapple giggled. It'd been a while since… She was starting to experience a feeling that was distant, yet familiar. It was a weird combination of security and glee.

"Well, doll, I have to get to my work. This leather isn't going to deliver itself. I've also got your real next assignment if you want it."  
"You bet," Bapple said, beaming.  
"That's 'Yes, Miss Shayla,' during business hours, young lady," suddenly in a stern tone.

Bapple's expression turned into a curious one, and Shayla cracked a smile.

"Ohhh, you're too easy. On a serious note, though, we keep it business whenever you're getting something for me. Once that's done, you can gossip with me to your sweet little heart's content. Got it?" Shayla explained, handing her a folded note.  
"Yes, Miss Shayla," Bapple said with a sly grin.

Bapple walked out of the room and headed for the door to the outside. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ferghus shaking his head, wearing a warm smile on his face. She thought she heard a happy sigh, too, but it could have been the fire.

She put the note in her pocket to save for later reading; she'd almost forgotten to report to Gwynn.

"Bapple!" Gwynn said immediately as Bapple entered the Mercenary Outpost. "We thought you might be a goner!"  
"Nope, and here's a souvenir," Bapple answered, unhooking a crude, metal hat from the back of her shirt and handing it to Gwynn.

"This is Shadow Fang's helm! I guess no further explanation is necessary. Good job, mercenary. Here." Gwynn put the helmet on the counter and handed Bapple a heavy envelope. "Inside is your compensation. You're sure to hear from me again once more intelligence is secured. Questions?"  
"No, ma'am," Bapple said, trying not to appear giddy about her prize.  
"Good. Dismissed!"

Bapple walked over to the inn, said hi to Tieve, and headed for her room. She removed the heavier parts of her clothes, put her earnings on the nightstand, and fell in love with the nice, cold sheets.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Reunion**

A few days passed. Bapple always found herself busy; she was always doing a favor for someone in the town. Gwynn wanted investigation of Perilous Ruins, Shayla wanted various trinkets from the creatures, Clodagh wanted to see outfits put together, and Brynn, the man in the pharmacy, finally needed assistance with his potions to the point at which he said more than a sentence to her.

It was an okay way to live, though. Even though things got repetitive sometimes, the job was always exciting nonetheless. She got to meet lots of different peers not in Marrec's group, and she noticed that females were slowly starting to trickle into the mercenary population. A mercenary was a mercenary to her, but it was slightly satisfying although she never expected much from the girls.

During an off hour, Bapple kicked some pebbles around on the dirt outside the inn; a small group of guys, including Dima, stood around and near her. The rest of the Crimson Blades had eventually come to respect her as an equal, partially due to the arm wrestling incident, and they all joked with each other like longtime friends.

"Raaaaah!" one said, running in slow motion toward Bapple, pretending to hold a weapon in the air.  
"Whomp!" Bapple replied, doing some kind of pirouette, holding out her own imaginary weapon.

The other dramatized a falling motion, and everyone laughed.

"At least I'm not scared of attacking him!" a guy, cheeks now red, said.  
"There's a difference between being scared and waiting until the swinging radius of a giant hammer is safe, numbskull," Dima said. More laughter.

Bapple and Dima, along with two pickup buddies from the Blades, fought the Gnoll Chieftain that day; it was, without contest, the hardest fight so far. The panic was long over, though, and it was time to laugh about it.

"Hello gentlemen," a girl's voice said from outside the crowd. "That way will take me to the docks, right? I'm waiting for a friend."

The crowd mystically parted, allowing Bapple to see who it was. The smile was instantly drained from her face as she recognized the girl.

"Well look who it is! Didn't mean to call you a gentleman, Bapple. Easy mistake to make!"

Bapple scowled for a moment, but then she started smiling again.

"No problem. I bet it is!"  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Well, gentlemen are people you'll never get to sleep with."

There were a couple snickers, but most remained silent and confused.

"Just as vulgar and clever as the day you snuck out with your tail between your legs, I see. Glad to know you're getting along well here with your kind."

Bapple clenched her fists as the girl started to walk away.

"You know," Bapple started, forcing the girl to stop and listen, "I don't know why you're _still_ so mean to me. I never did anything to you back then, and it's been months."

The girl took in some air to reply, but Bapple continued.

"I really don't know. It can't be that you're jealous of me." Bapple started speaking louder without noticing. "It's not like I was popular or anything; I had no friends! It's sure not _these_," she said, grabbing her chest with both hands, "they're definitely not much to write home about!"  
"I -" the girl tried to speak. Bapple's voice got even louder.  
"I'm surrounded by guys every day, and I _still_ don't have a boyfriend! My hobbies include, and are limited to, slicing open potentially innocent Gnolls just because a townsperson told me to! The only thing I have over you is the fact that I don't act like a condescending, uppity backbiter toward both friends _and_ strangers. Then again, you probably consider that one of your talents. Why are you here, anyway? Shouldn't you be back home talking about me with your friends, and then talking about your friends with other people?"

The girl stood there, speechless. She took it all in, unsure how to react.

Bapple about-faced, hoping no one saw the tear streaming down her cheek. Shayla peeked out from the doorway of the forge, curious about the commotion. Bapple felt a hand on her shoulder, but she sprinted off toward the blacksmith building.

She ran past Shayla and went straight into the back without asking. Shayla, completely lost, approached her room and found Bapple on her knees, sniveling with her face in her hands. Shayla's eyes widened in surprise, and she took a few steps back into the main room.

"Ferg, I hate to interrupt you, but -"  
"Lemme guess, you'll need two cups of hot chocolate for this situation," he interrupted, laughing. "Gimme another minute or so to finish this up, and then another few before I arrive with your liquid feel-goods."  
"You're a dear," Shayla said warmly.

Shayla walked back into her room and kneeled down next to Bapple. She put a hand on Bapple's back, causing her to sob even harder.

She reached for a tissue box. After prying Bapple's hands from her face, Shayla handed her the tissues.

"Come here," Shayla said after Bapple had sufficiently cleaned her face and blown her nose. Shayla got up and sat down on her bench, patting the spot next to her. Bapple got up, slumped over to her, and plopped down, sniffling the whole way. Shayla put an arm around her and remained quiet, letting her get it out of her system for a minute.

After the nose trumpeting and troubled exhales turned into silence, Shayla spoke up.

"Alright, sweetie. I think you know that I'm dying to know."  
"Pfffff," Bapple said, slowly letting out her breath. "Where do I start?"

Suddenly, a hammering sound echoed throughout the room.

"Knock knock!" said Ferghus. "Whoops, don't know my own strength sometimes. Anyway, here's your order of hot chocolate, Shayla."  
"Thanks, Ferghus," Shayla said, getting up. "Put it on my tab," she winked.

Ferghus walked back to his business after handing her the cups, whistling a tune even he didn't recognize.

"Comforting people isn't really my area of expertise, but I did know that these would help," Shayla said, handing Bapple a cup.  
"Thank you," Bapple answered. She softly blew at the steam coming from the drink and fished out a marshmallow with her mouth. "How much did you see?"  
"Well, I heard more than I saw. I did see you talking to a girl I've never seen before, and by talking to I mean shouting at. I didn't get all of it, but I'd wager that you know her from somewhere else."  
"Unfortunately," Bapple said, sipping her drink. She sighed, seemingly at the notion of explaining. "Before Colhen, and before the Crimson Blades, I led a more orthodox life. Quite a ways south of here, I used to go to a one room, all girls school house."  
"Sounds delightful," Shayla laughed.  
"We were never taught many useful things. In a nutshell, Kesi, that girl outside, was the alpha bitch. She still is, it seems."

Shayla laughed again, not having ever expected Bapple to say something like that. Bapple continued, unfazed.

"I usually kept to myself, but I guess that's like shouting 'Pick on me!' as loud as you can. Eventually I had enough of it all. I didn't want to deal with whiny, mean, ignorant females; I didn't want to grow up to be a housewife droid; most of all, I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in the middle of nowhere. I picked up a few small things from my home, left a note, and started walking. Not too long after, I happened across a couple fellas talking about the Crimson Blades."  
"Well!" Shayla said. "That answers, that, that, and that question! But what's she doing here?"  
"I have no idea."  
"You don't think she's trying to be a mercenary, do you?"  
"Nah, she's scared of getting dirty, and it's one of the many things she irrationally hates me for I think."

They heard a softer hammering sound.

"Bapple, you got a visitor."

Kesi came out from behind Ferghus and stared, doe-eyed, into the room at the two.

"Bapple…" Kesi said, barely audibly.  
"As nice as it is to finally hear you call me by name, I don't want to hear you say anything." Bapple said, not missing a beat. She stood up. "I don't know what your problem with me was for all those years, and I don't know what it is today, but I don't care anymore. I hope you're just stopping by Colhen for a cup of sugar because life has been much more enjoyable ever since I walked away with my tail between my legs."  
"I wanted to apologize…"

Bapple almost snorted.

"_You_ want to apologize? I'm the one that should be sorry. I was such a burden to you and your little pack of wolves throughout the entire time we've known each other. After looking back on it, I can't believe I forced you all to torment me every chance you got. I even tried to be nice to you once! It's a shame people like me still exist in this world."

Bapple stared hard at Kesi.

"With that said, I don't care even if you really have developed a conscience. I'd sock you in the jaw right now just so I wouldn't have to hear any more from you, but that'd make me a bit too much like the boys you like comparing me to. In true female fashion, I will just keep talking until you can't stand it and leave. Do you feel like leaving yet?"

Kesi looked defeated, lip quivering.

"I'm sure even you are smart enough to not be around by the time I walk out the front door. For your sake, you didn't meet me today."

Kesi turned around and walked away in silence. Shayla got up, stood next to Bapple, and watched Kesi sulk out the front door into the sunlight. She then fell victim to a tight hug.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: What friends are for**

"Bapple, you in there?" Knock knock. Dima talked to the wooden door, the one that led to Bapple's room in the Inn, as he beat it repeatedly.  
"Yeah," a voice said groggily from inside.

Dima gently pushed the door open and saw Bapple's leather armor, boots, gloves, and hat sitting on the floor. Bapple noticed them, too, and quickly covered herself with her bedsheet.

"Sorry, I slept kinda late today," Bapple admitted, head poking out from underneath the sheet.  
"It's okay. We were just wondering where you were!" Dima said. He noticed Bapple massaging her own head. "Today was polar bear day, but maybe we should reschedule."  
"Nah, just give me a little bit to get ready."  
"Let me feel your head," Dima said in a surprisingly stern tone.

Bapple hesitated but eventually held back the hair on her forehead. Dima bent over the bed and touched her smooth skin.

"Ow," he joked, moving to her cheek. "Ow again. Sorry, Miss Bapple, but I can't let you go out like this."  
"Ughn," Bapple answered. She sniffed and looked around the room lazily.  
"You need to get back to sleep."  
"I will after you leave."  
"Why can't I stay and talk to you?"  
"I don't want you getting any…" Bapple's words turned into long, exhausted breaths as her head fell back on the pillow.

Dima couldn't help but smile at the sight; Bapple was outside her stress-filled natural habitat. All the drama and combat had finally caught up to her. A few days had passed since the Kesi incident, but she remained a closed book about it. Dima wondered when, or if, he'd get to hear the _I'll tell you later_ or _I don't want to talk about it right now_ stories. He borrowed a quill from her desk and wrote her a quick note, placing it on her hat before quietly exiting.

"Shayla?" Dima asked nervously. He looked around inside the forge for the scary, seductive lady.  
"What?" she said, coming out from her room.  
"Uh, hi. I'm here on Bapple's behalf."  
"Okay?"  
"Yeah," Dima scratched the back of his head. This woman was difficult to talk to; he had no idea why Bapple picked her to be friends with. "She's not feeling too well today, and she's getting some extra sleep right now. I figured you probably had her doing something for you, so I just wanted to let you know."  
"Hm," Shayla said, holding her chin. "That does complicate things. I suppose I'll have to think up a plan B for today. No big problem, though. Thanks."  
"Sure thing. Hey, Shayla… Does Bapple ever say anything about me?"  
"Huh? Oh. You're Dima, right?"  
"Yeah."  
"You're the one who always hits on her, can't arm wrestle her, gives her first pick at loot from enemies, mindlessly spins into fights, makes the occasional funny joke, and all that?"  
"Yeah! Uh…"  
"No, don't think so. Can't say I remember your name coming up." Shayla turned around and went back into her room.

Dima walked outside, feeling slightly less confident this time.

**That night…**

Bapple's condition had greatly improved since the morning. She picked up the note and smiled as she slipped on her outfit. She peeked outside from the Inn's main door, and Colhen looked as desolate as it usually did at nighttime. She stepped outside, suddenly invigorated by the fresh air, and walked to the docks.

Bapple strolled past the usual boats and went on to an unused platform. She walked to the edge of it and sat down, admiring the moonlight on the water. Minutes later, she heard footsteps in the dirt behind her.

"Room for two?" Dima asked without wanting an answer. He positioned himself next to her and sat. They both hugged their legs; a cool breeze swept past.  
"Thanks for this morning," Bapple said, still not having turned to him. "I was so out of it. I feel a lot better now, though. Did I fall asleep on you?"  
"Yeah, you were telling me why you didn't want me to stay with you."  
"Oh, hm. Sorry."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"So," Dima said, "when can I know the secrets of your past, or even the ones of your present?"

Bapple looked at him and then looked away again.

"You _are_ too good of a friend to keep petty things from," she admitted. "I'm sorry if I'm overly inaccessible. I have trust issues, I guess."  
"You trust Shayla, at least."  
"She's a woman."  
"You hate females, though."  
"I have trust issues, I guess."

They laughed and sat in silence again.

"I spent most of my time growing up living in something similar to an orphanage, and I went to an all female school," Bapple said quietly.  
"Yikes!"  
"That's an understatement. They didn't take too kindly to me for whatever reason. I guess it's 'cause I didn't share the aspiration to grow up and be useless; I didn't want to constantly be either behind a counter or in front of a stove. I got too sick of it one day, so I scribbled down some last words and headed north until I found the Crimson Blades."  
"That's why you put on a hood and hid your identity?"  
"You bet."  
"All the stuff that happened afterward, the uproar about a female getting through Crimson Blade training and the new female mercenaries as a direct result… That's not what you were going for?"  
"Nope. That was just funny. I only wanted to escape."  
"So that girl from a few days ago…"  
"She was one of my very best friends as you could tell," Bapple attempted to smile to indicate sarcasm, but she scowled without realizing it. "I sent her packing, though. Sometimes it feels great to tell people what you think about them."

Another wave of silence washed over them, filled only by the sounds of the night insects for a minute.

Dima noticed Bapple shivering and put his arm around her.

"You're pushing your luck, you know," she said.  
"I know," he answered, feeling her head rest on his shoulder.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Dethroning the white tyrant**

0800. Polar bear day. Bapple adjusted her leather armor, cocked her hat, picked up her weapons and useful things, and zoomed out of the inn.

"Bout time, sleepy head!" Maks shouted as Bapple approached the group.  
"Yeah, yeah. You all ready? We got a few different townspeople waiting on the outcome of this fight," Bapple replied, looking up into the air to remember how many errands she'd knock out with this one battle.  
"Let's go to the docks already!" Maks said excitedly.

The four began to strut toward the docks when Aodhan caught up to them from behind.

"Hey, fantastic four! Pause for a minute!"

They sighed and turned around.

"You guys have proven you can handle yourselves pretty well in Fomor territory. However, I suggest you take along at least one more person for this fight. I can tell you with confidence that it'll be more difficult than any of you can guess," Aodhan said.  
"No offense, but that's been the description every time up to this point," Maks said snidely.

Aodhan chuckled.

"I understand. Unfortunately, this is more of a demand than a suggestion. Your fifth is inside the outpost."

The four looked at each other plainly as they changed course. The outpost contained the usual suspects along with one person sitting at a table.

"I think I'd rather take my chances with four," Bapple spat out after a big sigh. She then snapped her fingers in front of the faces of the boys who seemed to be in a trance.

A short, pale girl in a poofy skirt, knee-high white socks with Dorothy heels, and a huge witch hat sat before them. She got up carefully from the chair, pushed it in daintily, looked at the group with her hands clasped, and then let out a small burp.

"Excuse me!" she said, covering her mouth. Bapple squinted with one of her eyes, not expecting such a high pitched voice.  
"No, excuse _me_!" Dima said. "I haven't introduced myself! My name is Dima." He bowed and kissed her hand.  
"Maks!"  
"Gav!"  
"Yeah. Let's go," Bapple said.  
"You must be Bapple," the girl said with a giggle. "The captain told me I'd get the warmest welcome from you. I'm Nalus. I've been doing less important missions than you guys, so I hope I can learn a lot from you."

The boys, including Aodhan, looked at Bapple expectantly, knowing for sure something funny would happen. She took a deep breath, but only turned around and raised her arm to motion to the others to come along. Aodhan ran to the doorway to see them out.

"Do you hate me?" he asked, grinning.  
"Why couldn't you give us someone not cute and cuddly? Like Gallagher. It'd still be really annoying, but no one would mourn _his_ death."  
"Hey, I heard that, rookie! Remember your place!" she heard as the door closed behind her.

**During the boat ride...**

"So, what exactly do you do, farm crops? Collect old people?" Bapple asked. She refused to acknowledge the presence of Nalus from exiting the outpost to this point, and she was still looking out at the sea as the words came out. She was referring to the huge scythe that Nalus had on her person.  
"I lay down the hurt just like you guys do. Well maybe a little bit differently," Nalus said, ignoring the fact that her answer probably didn't matter.

Nalus walked to the edge of the boat where Bapple was and put her elbows on the wood, head in hands.

"I'm glad I got to come with you guys. I promise I won't be as useless as I know you think I am. I know I've got a lot to live up to; I've heard of all your exploits," Nalus said, also looking to the sea.  
"Hm."

Bapple wandered to the other side of the ship, but Nalus knew not to make attempts at further conversation for a while. Bapple passed the boys, who were playing a dice game, but paid them no mind while lost in thought. She stood at the back of the boat, saw the waves crashing against it, and lifted a hand to her face. She ran her fingers down her right cheek, remembering the heart painted on it, and a memory arrived.

**Earlier that month...**

Bapple sat alongside Shayla inside Shayla's room at the forge; the two were surrounded by a mess of little containers of face paint.

"Hold still!" Bapple said. She held a brush up to Shayla's cheek and, very carefully, finished a drawing.  
"What is it?" Shayla asked.  
"You'll see!"

They laughed together giddily. They'd mutually agreed to give each other an appropriate piece of art on the cheek for something to do that afternoon. It was an off day, during which Bapple had received no tasks from anyone, so they spent it at leisure.

"There. Your turn!" Bapple said.  
"Alright, turn that way," Shayla motioned.

Shayla made a quick stroke, filled it in, and finished it with another stroke.

"That's it?"  
"That's it."

The two grabbed handheld mirrors from the floor and inspected their faces.

"Is that a fox?" Shayla asked curiously.  
"Yep. You're smart, cunning, and all that stuff. Most of all, though, you're just _foxy_," Bapple said, and they erupted with more laughter.

Bapple looked at what Shayla had painted.

"A heart?"  
"A damn good one, if I do say so myself!"  
"But why? I'm not in love!"  
"You don't have to be in love to have a heart. You're a brave and powerful young lady, but sometimes you're just acting the part for the sake of it. I know you're a big sweetie on the inside. I think you could stand to be it a bit on the outside, too," Shayla said, pinching the unpainted cheek. "Not to mention it looks adorable."

**Back on the boat...**

_Just acting the part...  
__Big sweetie on the inside..._

"Bapple? Hello?" Gav said, waving his arm in front of her. "We're here!"

Bapple snapped out of it and looked behind her to the front of the boat. Indeed, they had dropped anchor at the front of an unfamiliar, icy cavern. Maks was on his rear, making last minute preparations. Dima offered his hand to Nalus; she took it, made an innocent glance in Bapple's direction, then carefully made her way off the boat onto the frozen floor. Bapple picked her sword and shield up from the deck and climbed off the boat herself, pulling out the Hoarfrost map as she reached the others.

"According to this map..." she started.  
"Plenty of horror stories started this way," Maks said, now off the boat and ribbing Nalus. Bapple gave him a nasty look.  
"According to this map, there's one room before the polar bear's lair. I imagine Kobolds are inside both rooms, probably more so in the first. Have you dealt with Kobolds, Nalus?"

Nalus cocked her head in surprise, not expecting to both hear her name and see Bapple's eyes at the same time. She stuttered for a moment, and then, "Yeah. My group investigated the Quiremigal situation."  
"Good. Moving on, I don't expect anything nasty in the first room, but everyone should be on their toes anyway. Give Nalus some space to work with since this will be the only chance before the big fight that we can take note of her efficiency."  
"Sir, yes sir," Gav said. It usually got on Bapple's nerves, but she seemed to almost not hear it this time.

They entered the cavern, and the first room was similar enough to past areas of Hoarfrost. They heard the all too familiar "EEE-YAHHH" of the Kobolds and charged forward. Nalus, tired of waiting, started gracefully swinging her scythe around in circles and then slamming it down on the ground, sending Kobolds flying in all directions.

"Ouch!" Dima said, watching a Kobold get walloped.

The other four started their work, and soon enough the white walls were stained with good old Fomorian blood.

"One down," Nalus said happily. She shivered. "I forgot how cold it is in this place."  
"Siddown," Bapple commanded. All of them did so. Bapple gathered some rocks and wood from the surrounding debris and made a campfire, sans the fire. "Dima, if you will."

Dima cracked his knuckles and got up to fetch some pieces of wood. He rubbed them together furiously, but they ultimately were widdled down to nothing.

"This...usually works," he said, embarrassed. Bapple sighed.  
"Well, I hope you don't mind my stealing your thunder, but I gotcha covered," Nalus said sweetly. She put her hand over the gathered wood, removed her glove, and snapped her fingers. Instantly, the wood went ablaze.

Bapple, after staring in amazement for a moment, looked up at Nalus. Nalus thought she saw a smile right before Bapple's head went back down.

As soon as the group was all warmed up, they got rid of the flame and headed into the second room. It was enormous and not filled with the usual Kobold huts. It was sort of circular, outlined with icy blocks and wooden barrels. At the opposite end of the room, a big Kobold and some smaller friends of his were enjoying a roasted who-knew-what. Bapple readied a spear, but Gav sneezed and earned the attention of the lot of Kobolds.

"Thanks," Bapple said angrily, but it was drowned out by the usual "EEE-YAHHH!" of angry Kobolds. Soon, though, the repeated "EEE-YAHHH" was drowned out by an even louder bellow: that of the angriest, biggest polar bear anyone would ever see.

The polar bear emerged from the back and wasted no time grabbing the biggest Kobold in its mouth, only to fling it across the room straight into a wall. The others ran around it into the place it came from, hoping to not be seen.

The group performed a collective gulp of hesitance.

"Hey Bapple, just in case we don't make it out of this..." Dima said as softly as possible, given the new noise level. She turned to him, gave him a dissatisfied look, and slapped him on the face. She then tilted her head toward the roar, indicating it was time to move in.

Bapple pulled out her sword, readied her shield, and ran into the room with only an assumption that she would be followed. Gav and Maks took off after her after fumbling with their weapons for a moment.

"If that thing were about 3 stories taller, you may have been able to justify that," Nalus told Dima cheekily. "You gotta remember who you're talking to; Battle Beauty Bapple over there is only about half as scared as you right now. Come on!" she ran to join the others. He shook his head and followed suit.

The bear set its sights on Bapple and swung a huge paw at her. She ducked and put her shield up, and the blow sent her flying backwards. Nalus used the opportunity to wind up for a huge cut into the bear's fur, and she pulled something from the air afterward. She snapped her fingers, and a little ball of light appeared next to her.

"It'll only keep his attention for a little while!" she shouted as it flew to the bear's face, "Start pummeling him!"

Dima, Gav, and Maks took no time to think it over and started slashing at its hide. The bear screamed, as its skin was broken multiple times, and swatted angrily at the ball of light until it disappeared.

Suddenly, Nalus was at Bapple's side.

"Can you stay in its face and keep it royally pissed off?" Nalus asked.  
"I wonder where you got the idea for _that_ plan," Bapple said sarcastically. She then flashed a smile. "That's what this is for," she said, holding her shield up by her chest.  
"Great," Nalus said, trying not to dwell on the blossoming camaraderie. "If you can put enough holes in his face, he won't worry about the ones in his side. At least that's what I'm hoping for."  
"Hoping," Bapple repeated mockingly. "Alright, I'll –" she was cut off by a paw slamming into the ground right in front of her. "...Nalus?"  
"Don't worry!" she heard from behind the white fur. "Snapping my fingers isn't the only trick I know!"

Bapple shook her head, relieved, and then sliced into the bear's flesh which warranted a big, unhappy roar. She ran back to the center of the room, taunting it on the way, and it caught up to her quickly. It got on its hind legs and filled the room with its roar, and Bapple saw her team already hacking at its rear. She was too far away to hit it with her sword, so she pulled out a spear and chucked it towards the bear's head. She didn't expect a miraculous hit, but it ended up plunging straight into the bear's right eye.

"Ewwww, sorry," Bapple said squeamishly.

The bear fell back on all fours and pawed at its eye in pain. It then pawed blindly at Bapple, but she was ready with her shield again. After getting knocked back by a few body lengths, she charged back at the bear and decisively stabbed it in a fatal spot while it was vulnerable. The bear rised for a moment and then went permanently limp. There was a long pause, followed by...

"Woohoo!" from all five present.

**Back in Colhen...**

Bapple and the others counted gold coins they'd received from various townsfolk; it seemed everyone wanted a piece of the bear. The group gathered at the outpost for a celebratory drink.

Nalus stared out the window, sipping slowly. Bapple leaned back against it next to her, but they both remained silent for about a minute.

"Good work out there, and stuff," Bapple said.  
"Thanks, and stuff," Nalus replied.

Bapple put her drink on the windowsill and crossed her arms.

"I'm trying to figure out what to say right now."  
"What's it about?"

Bapple twirled some of her hair around a finger uncomfortably.

"Will you be my friend?" Bapple said, unsure of every word.

Nalus put her drink down and turned around to face the same direction.

"I'll give it an A for effort! You know, Bapple, I don't think you make friends by asking for it, but you know what? We're already friends anyway."

Bapple let out a combination of a snort and a sigh. "Thanks."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Friends who do stuff together**

"Come on over later today," Bapple had told her, "second floor, first on the right."

It was the afternoon after the success at Hoarfrost Hollow, and Bapple had invited Nalus to come see her at the inn for – what was this for again? _I don't wanna just talk to her. Do I?_ She didn't have time to answer herself; a loud knock on the wooden door interrupted her thoughts.

"Come on in."

Nalus, now dressed in fabulous white fur, heaved open the door and walked in with a smile. She pulled off the big, furry sun hat, flung it on the bed, and let the sun catch her short, reddish-brown hair.

"I see the bear didn't die in vain." Bapple looked her up and down once, nodding in approval.  
"One guess who's responsible for this outfit!"  
"I'll bet she has red hair."  
"Well that doesn't narrow it down by much. How red?"

They laughed together. It felt good.

"Soooooooo. What's up?" Nalus finally asked.  
"Nothing's currently up. You were one fifth of what was up yesterday. I'm sorry; I'm not very good at this I guess."  
"At what?"  
"I thought I'd never have to deal with a girl my age again. Shayla's been like a mother, sister, and best friend combined ever since I met her, and that was enough for me. Suddenly you get forcibly attached to our team, and I actually like being around you somehow."  
"Tactful as always."  
"See what I mean?"  
"Don't sweat it. No offense taken. Now, if you don't mind my asking, what might be the root of all this? I think guys are generally less ridiculous than girls are, but you seem to have a vendetta."

Bapple winced at the words. They didn't hurt, but the truth in them went straight for the jugular. She looked around the room a bit, deciding how to start the story, and Nalus waited patiently. As soon as Bapple started, she didn't stop until it was over. She talked about the frail mother figures in her home life, the horrible peers and indifferent professors at school, and how her determination to separate herself from all of the above drove her to don a hood and join the Crimson Blades. She told Nalus about the encounter with Kesi. She told Nalus about the overwhelming feeling of doom when she found out the fifth team member was a girl. She apologized for blindly mentioning that.

Nalus looked shocked and amazed after the spiel.

"That's gotta be the most insane, true story I've ever heard. Somehow you're still sane."  
"How do you know I'm still sane?"  
"Well I'm just about the cutest thing in the world. If you didn't come around eventually, something would be wrong."  
"Then again, I stabbed a 10 to 1 scale polar bear in the forehead yesterday."

**Later...**

Darkness had crept up on Colhen while Bapple and Nalus talked all day.

"Where'd the time go?" Bapple asked.  
"Beats me. This is the danger of idle female chit-chat."  
"It's hard to have a nice conversation with any of the guys. It happens, but it's hard."  
"Speaking of the guys," Nalus formed a devilish smile.  
"Uh oh."  
"What's up with you and Dima? A little birdie told me you two have had your share of storybook moments."

Bapple clasped her hands behind her head and leaned back to lie on the floor.

"A little birdie, huh?" Sigh. "I dunno."  
"Spill the beans!"

Bapple weighed her answers.

"I think it'd be bad for the team."  
"Oh. One-a-_those_."  
"It's hard to think that when I'm in his arms, though. Er, I didn't mean..."  
"Ooooh!"

Bapple covered her face with her hands to hide the shade of red she'd turned.

"You're so cute when you let your guard down!" Nalus squealed.  
"_This_ is the danger of idle female chit-chat."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Fomor Formerly Known As...**

Nalus was relaxing in the general store, casually gossiping with Clodagh, when the door was shoved open.

"Please help them." A woman with a yellow piece of cloth over her head stumbled into the store before collapsing.  
"Fernella!" shouted Aislinn.

**Shortly after...**

They had all propped Fernella up in a chair, and Clodagh was worriedly dabbing the woman's forehead with a wet washcloth. She finally opened her eyes.

"H-huh? Where are they? Are they okay?"  
"Fernella, calm down. What's going on?" Aislinn put a hand on Fernella's shoulder.  
"Ainle. The Fomors have it all on fire. I barely escaped to a boat headed for here. My family, I don't know."

Nalus clenched her fists.

"Now they're bringing innocent people into this. How low will those things go? I'm going to tell the others."  
"Nalus," Clodagh grabbed her by the forearm. "Please be careful. I couldn't stand to lose a friend."

Nalus was about to reply, but she saw Clodagh's lip quivering. She gave a reassuring smile, nodded, and rushed out the door.

**At the mercenary outpost...**

Bapple, chin in hand, stared at the window from a table full of loud boys.

"Of course I can! What kind of wuss can't hold a burp for five seconds?"  
"Put up or shut up!"  
"Get me some soda!"

There were, of course, times that she'd be involved in such a conversation, but she felt like being civilized that day. Suddenly, Nalus appeared at the table and demanded their attention.

"The Fomors are burning down Ainle!"

All present at the table, as well as in the outpost, went silent.

"An escapee just showed up at the general store and told us the situation."  
"What's all this?" Gwynn marched over.  
"Ainle is being torched apparently. My source is a first hand witness."

Bapple stood up and reached for her things.

"Let's get going."  
"Excuse me, mercenary, but I'm the one who will decide who gets going. This is new and extremely dangerous territory for you all; we will let the Royal Army handle this."

_I haven't seen a single member of the Royal Army during my entire stay here_, Bapple didn't say. _If we wait on them, that town will be a pile of ashes by the time anyone gets to it._

"Good thinking, ma'am," Bapple gritted her teeth. "I'll go talk to the witness; maybe I can get some useful info for whoever shows up."

Nalus watched Bapple exit the room and noticed a subtle "follow" from her lips.

"That wasn't very like you." Nalus caught up to Bapple and walked next to her.  
"Luckily Gwynn doesn't know what I'm like. I'll track down the guys, so get ready to go."  
"Well played."  
"Psst!" Aodhan was a bit behind them. "I have a feeling you're headed for Ainle."  
"Wouldn't think of it," Bapple answered dryly.  
"Right. I won't tell you to consult Nyle first, then." He disappeared back into the outpost.  
"I like him," Nalus crossed her arms triumphantly.  
"He's a riot."  
"Tell you what: I'll go find Dima, Maks, and Gav. You go see what Nyle thinks about this and brief us at the boat."  
"Sounds like a plan!"

Bapple crept inside the dark laboratory in which Brynn constantly played with chemicals.

"Hello. Can I help you? Don't touch that, please."  
"I'm looking for Nyle."  
"He's not here."  
"Ainle's in some pretty big trouble right now."

Footsteps came from the staircase.

"I'm now here. Speak."

Bapple informed the two of them about what Nalus had said.

"Brynn, this is beyond serious. Do you think..."  
"The Blood Prince," Brynn answered.  
"I didn't think it would happen so soon."  
"Well," Bapple interrupted, "we're off to take care of business as usual."  
"Hold on, mercenary." Nyle stared at Bapple. "This is ="  
"'No ordinary battle,' I know." Bapple rolled her eyes.  
"Do not take this lightly. The Blood Prince is not of this world. He must be stopped at all costs; the summoning ritual is likely finished already."  
"Alright," Bapple was slightly more convinced. "We'll watch out." She turned around.

As she reached for the door handle, Nyle spoke again.

"And Bapple," she shivered at the sound of her name coming from him, "The Blood Prince does not travel alone."

**On the boat ride to Ainle...**

"Blood Prince Shmlood Prince!" Maks shouted. "We'll give him the old one-two, right Dima?"  
"Ka..." Dima put his palm in the air.  
"Pow!" Maks slapped it.

Bapple feigned a smile, but Nyle's words echoed inside her thoughts.

"Something wrong?" Nalus' voice came from nowhere, and Bapple jumped.  
"Nah. Just hoping these two don't get too lonely without Tweedle-three here. Can't believe he didn't tell us he was going to visit family in Rocheste."  
"Mm."

It was a long ride. By the time they arrived, the moon was already on its way into the night sky. Maks and Dima exited the boat first, and Dima offered a hand to Nalus once again. She climbed out and curtsied. Bapple stood at the plank with a distraught look on her face. Dima, confused, offered his hand. It was unusual for her to not be the first one out of the boat.

"Thanks," Bapple almost whispered.  
"I'll put it on your tab." He ribbed her.

The sight before them was nasty. Dozens of houses and buildings were all on fire, too much to be helped by a small group. A few human bodies decorated the ground. They could smell wood burning along with something else. An unfamiliar smell lurked in the air.

"Be on your guard. They didn't pack up and leave; I'll bet on that." Bapple pulled her sword out slowly and held it in front of her with a new, unwavering attitude.

As they walked into what looked like a town square, high pitched screams emanated from the air around them, and small, black clouds appeared at eye level.

"Split up!"

The four ran to different corners just as disgusting, gray, humanoid creatures with clubs materialized in front of them. The beings let out agonizing growls and charged. With a few slices, stabs, and plain old hammering, the mercenaries were once again the only moving things in the square. They regrouped and silently continued down the cobblestone path.

In another wide open area, new creatures appeared from the air. They looked like tall skeletons with torn up robes. One held a bony hand in the air, formed a fireball, and looked at the group intently.

"Move!"

Bapple charged as it tossed the fireball. She held her shield in front of her face and felt diminished flames fly past her sides. Slice!

The skeletons made high pitched screeching noises as the other three tore through them, and then the area was seemingly clear.

"Ahhh!" Maks screamed. A red, blob looked to be swallowing his foot and moving up for more.  
"Gotcha!" Dima punctured it, and its life, or whatever made it move, slowly seeped away.

The next area had what looked like a stage surrounded by candles. Three pillars sat at their side, and three matching doorways were at the other end.  
"100 gold coins says this is the ritual spot," Maks said. No one cared to take him up on it.  
"'The Blood Prince does not travel alone,'" Bapple repeated. She studied the scene in front of her and noticed her heart rate had gotten much higher.  
"Whaddya think is behind door number 1?" Dima asked to no one in particular.  
"Well, we'll probably find out once we take one step forward," Nalus looked left and right at her comrades.

Bapple lifted her sword and pointed to the doors left to right.

"Maks. Dima. Nalus."  
"You think so?"  
"It's a blind suggestion."  
"What about you? Are you just gonna stay behind?" Maks complained.  
"My gut tells me those won't be the only places with fights happening. Feel free to veto, though. I'm not the leader or anything."

Maks fell silent.

"I trust Bapple's decision. I don't know about you two, but that middle doorway is all mine." Nalus put a hand on Bapple's back.  
"Fine with me." Dima cracked his knuckles.  
"Okay," Maks said weakly. He then stood up straight and puffed out his chest.

No sooner than they agreed did more robed skeletons appear on the stage. At the same time, heavy blocks started to move down from the three ceilings behind the doorways.

"Go! Now!" Bapple shouted.  
"But these things! There are so many!"  
"What if we get trapped in those rooms?"  
"You won't."

Bapple didn't think about what she said before she said it. She just wanted to get them out of there. It worked; they headed off to their respective doorways before they were blocked entirely.

"Aaaaooooww!" a skeleton shouted at her. One of them sounded like ten of them, and ten of them sounded like a nightmare.  
"Shut up already!" Bapple ran into the crowd.

**Door #1: Maks vs. Red Bearer**

A long, enclosed, wooden walkway led Maks to yet another burning scene. He took out a few skeletons with ease and looked around. He didn't notice the black smoke hovering around his head, and there was a sharp pain in his back as something tried to pierce his Chieftain armor. He fell to his knees and looked behind him; a new skeleton in a red outfit held up a single spear in its hand, ready to try again.

Maks ignored the pain and smoothly slid backwards right as a jab went to the spot he was just at. It didn't let up, and Maks had to roll to avoid another strike. He leapt to his feet, crossed his twin swords, and parried an incoming third attack. An opening! He put a good hole in the thing, and blood came out, but it didn't seem to be hurt.

The creature's swordplay was unforgiving, but predictable. After receiving a couple minor cuts, Maks had figured out its limited skill set pretty well. It swung for his legs, but he jumped, landed on its spear, and balanced long enough to send a sword straight into its head. It screamed, with the same sound of its inferiors, and eventually went limp.

**The stage: Bapple vs vampire horde**

Other than a couple claw marks on her face, Bapple was holding out alright. She noticed one of the pillars at the end of the stage rising until it was about twice her height. She silently cheered to herself, but in the back of her mind she wondered if it was a bad sign.

**Door #2: Nalus vs Reaper**

BzzzzzZZZZZZ!

Nalus was replaced with a puff of black just in time to avoid a super ranged strike from her enemy. This was another big skeleton with a spear, but it had the advantage over its kin of being able to fight long distance as well. Nalus caught her breath, exhausted from teleporting so much, and saw her foe charging up once again.

_Doesn't he ever get tired of doing that?_ Poof!

She moved in closer; staying away obviously was not helping. It lunged forward and struck the ground she'd barely moved away from, and she took the opportunity to get in a quick hit with her scythe. The skeleton staggered, but it soon readied itself again.

_I need some help._

Nalus swiftly evaded another lunge, and brought down the huge blade on the enemy again; this time, she took some of its spirit with her. She snapped her fingers, and the ball of light appeared at her side in time to confuse the Reaper. It angrily attacked the light, and this gave Nalus ample time to cut into its back and pull all the way down. It let out a shrieking howl, and she finished it with one more slice. The area was finally quiet.

**The stage: Bapple vs vampire horde**

Bapple, now with burn marks and torn armor, took cover behind some barrels. She noticed the middle pillar rising and felt a glimmer of hope. One of the barrels exploded, and she rolled out into the open.

**Door #3: Dima vs Blood Drinker**

"Damn it!" Dima shouted. Only a red-outfitted skeleton, readying another fireball, heard his complaints. Dima patted out the flames on his chest and tumbled out of the way.

_I can't touch this thing! No matter what distance I'm at, I get burned! I can't let them down, though. Bapple told me to go to this door specifically, so she knows I can do it._

Rage flew through his bloodstream. Images of Bapple, Maks, Gav, Nalus, and all the townsfolk flashed through his head. He had to protect them.

"Rrrr... Ahhhhhh!"

He gripped his spears tightly, and suddenly his fists were surrounded by a red glow. He didn't even notice the change and came at the fiend with a flurry of attacks. It was caught off guard and stumbled; that was all the time Dima needed. He spun around recklessly and hit the monster repeatedly before stopping abruptly and finishing the job with a double stab.

**The stage: Bapple**

The third pillar rose. Any remaining vampires disappeared into the air without even making their hellish sound.

"They did it," Bapple whispered to herself.

Then, the unfamiliar smell from the town entrance came back and was stronger than ever. It was almost overpowering. Slowly, a figure started to form on another end of the area. Its glowing red eyes and mouth appeared before the rest of it, and a feeling of dread washed over Bapple. Before her stood a vampire taller than the pillars with a huge spear in one of its hands.

It grunted and immediately ran at Bapple. She blocked the first attack and came back harder, shoving her shield into it.

_The Blood Prince_, she realized.

"Human!" it said, startling Bapple.  
"You...speak?"  
"Of course I can, you fool. I can do all sorts of things you can't even dream to do. Why do you disturb my awakening?"  
"This town doesn't belong to you!" Bapple abandoned all the feelings of despair that the Blood Prince brought with him and swung at him.  
"I don't see _your_ name on it!" He deflected her blow.  
"I'll write it in your blood!"

The two exchanged swings, and Bapple found another opening to knock him off balance with her shield. She wounded his leg and quickly retreated back to a defensive position.

"Your skills are not those of an amateur, human. However, you can't do this!"

Blood Prince launched a fireball at Bapple, and he was close enough to bypass her reaction time. Bapple was knocked back and thrown on the ground by the blast; her body was starting to reach its pain threshold.

"It's too bad about your friends. You may have stood a chance."  
"What are you talking about?" Bapple brought herself back on her feet.  
"Do not kid yourself, human. You know you sealed their fate, just as you sealed yours by staying behind!"

The prince shot another fireball her way, but she ducked behind her shield in time to save herself. Bapple had no time to consider the possibility that her friends were dead; Blood Prince came up and grabbed her.

"You stupid humans and your holy wars. Do you even know why you're here? Can you justify slaying my people?"  
"You brought this town to flames and killed innocent people. That's good enough for me."  
"Ha!" Blood Prince scoffed. "Have _you_ seen me kill any innocent people? Are you just going by instinct? Or even worse, by word of mouth?"

He threw Bapple to the ground.

"You're all the same. We Fomors are different, so naturally you want to kill us. You humans even kill each other if you can think up a contrived enough reason. I could let you go right now, and you'd be persecuted for coming here."

Bapple's body ached, and her head was ringing with the voice of the Blood Prince. Was he right? Was this justifiable? She got up once again.

Shut up, Fomor. Just shut up. I'm sick of your voice. I fight by my own will and sense of justice." She felt strength returning to her, and her wounds all became numb. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think this is wrong. Humans aren't perfect, but neither are you. I'm going to prove that to you."

The prince chuckled.

"Alright. Humor me."

A soft light started to surround Bapple's entire body, and the physical pain disappeared. The emotional pain focused itself in her hands and blade.

"Slashing..."  
"**Come on, human!**"  
"HIGH!"

Blood prince blocked a few attacks, but Bapple swung at him relentlessly and completely neglected any of his jabs that landed. After dozens of swings, Blood Prince lay on the ground. Bapple, bloody gashes in multiple places, pointed her sword at his face.

"Impressive. I never expected a human to best me. Know this, though: there are others far more powerful than I, and your arrogance will not remain unpunished forever. Now finish me."

Bapple raised her sword above her head, but she was interrupted by pain everywhere. The glow disappeared, and every injury she'd gotten suddenly made itself known. She shouted out in pain and fell to the ground as the three doorways started to open again.

Nalus, Dima, and Maks emerged from their rooms and were delighted to see each other.

"Wait, where's –"  
"Bapple!"

The three rushed to their bleeding friend who was next to a lifeless Blood Prince.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The sour taste of victory**

"She's okay," Nalus inspected Bapple's injuries. "She's just really banged up and, currently, out cold."  
"What're we gonna do?" Dima asked. "It's a long boat ride."  
"Get me something light. I can make some healing ergs. They won't fix her up like Tieve can, but they'll keep her in good shape until we get to Colhen. Maks, will you please?"

Maks stared at the scene, panicked, and he started to breathe more and more quickly.

"Snap out of it!" Dima shook him by the shoulders. "We're all okay. Bapple's okay. She won't be okay if you freak out!"

Maks came back to reality and rubbed the sides of his head.

"I'm sorry. It's just never been this real before. Anyway, yeah, I'll go get some little things."

He ran around the stage, picking up pieces of wood and metal, and Nalus turned them into tiny, red crystals. She held them next to Bapple's wounds while closing her eyes, and they disappeared into the skin.

"Okay. The bleeding should be stopped for a while. Maks, go get the boat ready to be turned around and taken back to Colhen. We'll lug her over to it."  
"Why am I doing the grunt work?"  
"I'll do the grunt work when you start making decisions! Now move it!"

Dima heaved Bapple over his shoulder, and Nalus caught her hat.

"I always hoped my first time carrying her would be a bit more romantic."  
"Don't give up yet. Nothing turns a girl on more than being carried away from certain death, unconscious or not."

**Bapple's mind...**

A sea of black. Then a memory from Brynn's laboratory.

"I got what you asked for!" Bapple reached into her pocket and dumped a couple handfuls of crystals, trinkets, and a still-beating heart on Byrnn's desk.  
"I honestly didn't expect you to be able to get a few of these. Regardless, here's your pay. Thank you."

Bapple collected the gold.

"Hey, Brynn?"  
"Hm?" Annoyed.

"What's _Slashing High_?"

"Where did you hear about that?"  
"I saw it mentioned in a book at the outpost. It was very brief, but it mentioned temporary invulnerability and lots of power."

Brynn chuckled to himself.

"I wouldn't worry about it."  
"Why? Is it some super secret magician trick that even you don't know?" Bapple lifted her head and gave him a ridiculous, mocking look. This always worked.  
"Of course I know it. What you read is false advertising, though."  
"How so?"  
"True invulnerability is impossible. The only way to escape pain is to die. _Slashing High_ increases your will to live."

Bapple's look turned slightly more serious.

"I see! Howsabout you teach me?"  
"Don't you have anything else to do right now?" Brynn sighed, agitated.  
"Nope!" she closed her eyes and grinned.

**Bapple's room at the inn...**

"Wh-what...where..."

Dima jumped and quickly turned around in the chair.

"Now I can stop worrying."  
"What's going on? Why am I here? Where is –" Bapple attempted to get up, "OW! Ow ow ow!"  
"Lay back down." Dima softly pushed her back. "You took some good hits by the looks of it, but the Blood Prince took some worse ones."

Bapple was suddenly taken by voices and images from the fight, and she gripped her head, gritting her teeth. Once she calmed down, he continued.

"We found you, passed out, next to the Blood Prince's dead body. Nalus gave you some improvised first aid, and then we brought you back here for real treatment."  
"What happened behind the doors? Does Gwynn know yet? Did – OW!"  
"Don't worry. We'll all give you a complete recap once you're feeling better. Now's not the time." Dima couldn't help but smile.

Bapple painstakingly reached for the quill on her desk, and then reeled back.

"If there's a more stubborn girl out there... Here you go." Dima handed it and a paper to her.

Bapple got upright, squinted, and scribbled down some words before blowing on it and folding it up.

"Dima, can you do me two favors?"  
"What do you need?"  
"Take this to Brynn, please."  
"Sure thing."

Dima took the note from her hand and put it in his pocket. He then got up and sat next to her on the bed to give her a long, gentle hug.

"Thank you," she said before collapsing happily into another nap.

**Brynn's laboratory...**

"What is it?" Brynn said, not looking up from his work.  
"Bapple wanted me to give this to you. I don't know what it says, but I guess it's too important to wait until she's better."

Brynn looked up and snatched it from his hands.

"Thank you, um, Dima. I appreciate it."

Dima waved and let Brynn back to his darkness. Brynn unfolded the note and held it under a glowing, green tube to read it:

_Brynn,  
__I now know what it is to want to live._

_Bapple_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Back to the grind**

"My remaining family in Rocheste needs me more than the Crimson Blades do. I love going on adventures with you guys, but I'd be better off helping them and having them know I'm safe."

Gav threw his last bag of things into the carriage and turned back to the group.

"This isn't goodbye, though! I'm sure you'll all end up there for one reason or another."  
"That's for sure!" Bapple walked up and squeezed him. "Take care, buddy. Don't forget to write letters in squid ink or whatever fancy, rich people in Rocheste use!"  
"That goes double for me," Nalus hugged him as well. "Don't raise too much hell over there!"

Gav looked at Dima and Maks uncomfortably for a few seconds before saluting them.

"Oh, for the love of..." Nalus rolled her eyes. "Turn around, Bapple."

The girls turned toward the mercenary outpost, and Gav hugged his two chums quietly.

"Are you lovebirds done yet?" They turned back.  
"Oh yeah! One more thing. Well, two," Gav said. He ran up to Bapple and Nalus and kissed them each on the cheek before jumping into the carriage and closing the door.  
"Hey!" Dima shook his fist as the girls giggled and waved.  
"Bye, guys! Have fun!"

The horses in front of the carriage started to move, and Gav soon disappeared.

"What a pain," Dima said.  
"I'll miss him, though," Maks shielded his eyes from the sun to catch a last glimpse.  
"Yep. Hey! What's with the waterworks? He's not dead!"

Bapple and Nalus held each other, spontaneously sobbing.

"Ugh. Women."

**The forge's back room...**

"Hey, little lady. Glad to see you're back on your feet. You spooked me the last time you came into town, and by that I mean the last time you were carried into town."

Bapple shivered, remembering the trip to Ainle.

"I spooked me, too."  
"What happened?" Shayla looked unusually concerned.  
"We kinda went to Ainle against orders. Without any real information, we had to wing it. I just barely killed the Blood Prince; I'd probably be lying there next to him if it weren't for my friends."

Shayla was quiet.

"That reminds me. My friends picked up some trinkets from his body, knowing I'd have gotten them for you. I forgot to bring them today."  
"Thanks."  
"Are you okay?"  
"I don't know. I've always reassured myself thinking you're invincible and the Fomors are all dumb as bricks."  
"Shayla..."

Shayla was quiet again.

"I accepted the risk when I became a mer-"  
"Stop it. You're no merc. I don't care about mercs. A merc is a soldier for hire. Expendable. You're a girl tearing up her past with a sword. If you died in battle, it'd be wasteful, not honorable."

Bapple looked away, unable to maintain composure.

"You can't take the fight out of a girl, though. I see your eyes light up every time the idea of a past or future adventure comes into your head. If you weren't with your friends on that old boat every day, it'd also be wasteful. I know for a fact that the promise of adventure motivates you more than the politics of war ever will. Just be careful out there. Seeing you in one piece makes me happier than a rare gem does. Don't let that stop you from picking them up on the way, though."

Shayla sat on her bench and patted the spot next to her. Bapple was about to sit down until -

_Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwnnn_, said the horn at the outpost.

"Well, I guess that's your cue." Shayla got back up and wiped a tear from Bapple's face. "Show no mercy," she winked.

Bapple smiled and turned around, but stopped herself at the door.

"Shayla, how do you know when you love someone?"  
"Hm. I guess when you'd put yourself in danger to keep that person safe. That's one."  
"That makes sense. How about not wanting someone in a dangerous situation, even if it's to protect you and others?"  
"That's another," Shayla said, slightly confused.  
"I'll find something shiny for you."

Shayla stood at the doorway, humbled, watching her trot off to the next briefing.

**Mercenary outpost...**

Bapple, Nalus, Dima, and Maks assembled at the outpost and looked expectantly at Gwynn.

"Mercenaries, I am pretty angry about your disobeying orders and going to Ainle. That was a huge risk, as you saw with what happened to Bapple here. On the other hand, I am also pretty proud that the four of you managed to tear apart the vampire leaders over there within only one night. I guess the two counterbalance each other, so you're all off the hook. Regardless, I'd rather you not pull that again."

All present high fived each other.

"Don't break out the drinks just yet. There has been confirmed Fomor activity in Fobellow Prairie. It was a neutral zone, so this obviously will not stand. I am waiting on further information from the Royal Army, so I have no clearance to give you all an official mission briefing. If you were to go there today, it would once again be without my giving you the signal. Please keep that in mind while the Fomors are preparing to do who-knows-what over there. Have I made myself clear?"  
"Yes ma'am!" they all said. Gwynn exited without another word.  
"Just so we're all on the same page here," Dima looked around, "she pretty much just told us -"  
"Yep. To the docks!" Bapple shouted.

**Minutes later...**

_**CRACK!**_

"These places are within walking distance, you know," whispered from behind a table.  
"We're a little too colorful to just stroll around town!"  
"Look at her! She has red hair, too!"  
"I'm not getting the vibe from her either. Fourth one in a row in this stupid place! She looks boring. The one with the bear skin on the wall was just a wuss. That lady wearing about two pieces of cloth looked pretty fierce, though. You'd have gotten along with the tailor. I think this note was a joke."

"Gallagher," Ceara said, "do you hear something?"  
"You're hearing things, woman!"

_**CRACK!**_

"There! Behind that table!" She cowered.

Gallagher rolled his eyes and walked over to inspect the area.

"Nothing!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Living in a dream**

The crew had gone to and returned from Fobellow Prairie. Nine Fingers, while no Blood Prince, had kept them busy for the better part of the day. He was a tall, yellow Gnoll whose only gimmick was the sheer speed he possessed.

Nalus moved about in her sleep. She was completely exhausted after having the sun beat down on her during all the action in the prairie and fell into an uncomfortable slumber immediately.

**In Ainle…**

Nalus, bloody from her near victory over a vampire leader, rushed back to the stage. The blockade in front of the doorway had suffered enough damage for her to burst back through. She blew apart the foundation in time to see Blood Prince hurl Bapple's lifeless body at a nearby wall. To her left and right, Dima and Maks lied helplessly. The entire area got hot as a circle of fire surrounded the stage. The prince eyed Nalus and approached her menacingly…

**Back home…**

Nalus' eyes opened quickly as she remained completely still in bed. She felt her heartbeat in all of her limbs as she stared at the ceiling.

_I'm okay. We're all okay._

She threw some light clothes on and tiptoed out into the night toward the inn. Naturally, all the floorboards she stepped on creaked louder than she ever remembered. She hit the wood of Bapple's door a few times senselessly. After a few moments, she heard an annoyed sound, stumbling, and some metal clanging. Bapple, one eye open, pulled the door.

Nalus gave a weak smile, but Bapple only stared at her blankly.

"Could I come in for a bit?"  
"I thought you'd never ask."

Bapple moved the junk on the nightstand around for a while before discovering the matches. Soon, a sweet-smelling candle lit the room. Nalus sat at the edge of the bed. Bapple tightened her robe and sat next to her, letting out something like a long snort.

"Sorry, by the way. Kind of a bad time, I guess."  
"I'll get over it. I'm sure it's nothing I'll lose sleep over. Oh wait."  
"I was wondering what happened to that girl who despised me!" She grabbed Bapple for an involuntary, sideways hug.

Bapple couldn't help but smile and shake her head.

"Anyway, believe it or not, I did have a reason for coming here."  
"Good to know."  
"Do you ever have nightmares? I mean about the things we do."  
"Yeah, at least one per week. Why?"  
"I had my first bad one tonight. I was just wondering how you deal with it."  
"I don't."

Nalus only looked at the floor.

"The only remedy for me is to replace old nightmares with new ones. Maybe that just means I'm crazy."  
"I could have told you that," Nalus smiled.

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Nalus, do you believe in what we're doing?"  
"Whaddya mean?"  
"Do you know why we're killing Fomors?"  
"I kinda daydreamed during the briefing."  
"Long story short, we're eradicating the lot of them so that we can all go to Erinn."  
"Oh, that sounds nice."  
"You sound as convinced as I am."  
"Why do you keep killing Fomors, then?"  
"I guess I need something to do."

Bapple went to get two glasses of water for them. As Nalus reached for hers, she talked again.

"Will you tell me what happened in Ainle?"  
"Eh." Bapple took a gulp of water. "No."  
"You're just going to take the fact that you almost died and sweep it under the rug?"  
"Do you think I wanna be woken up again because I gave you another nightmare?"

An eery silence beat against their ears.

"There's really not much to the story. It was a tough fight and a tough conversation."  
"You talked to him?"

Bapple only took another sip.

"Alright, I won't push my luck. I guess I'll let you get back to sleep." She gave Bapple another hug. "Thanks."  
"Any time. Except this time of night."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Knocking on the enemy's door**

_Waaaaaawwwhhhh..._

The sound of the boat's horn filled the air of Colhen. Bapple gave the duck board a tap, softer than usual, and the giant hunk of wood jerked into its course. Her friends were not with her for this trip. She cocked her hat and tightened the belt on her vest. She had on her favorite outfit that doubled as her combat armor of choice against the mostly inadequate foes she'd encountered. It was made by Kirstie from polar bear leather and Kobold cloths, dubbed "Sharpshooter" because of some story Bapple didn't actually listen to.

Bapple had better things to think about than Kirstie's unlikely tales. She'd talked to Shayla the day before about some of the more memorable battles.

**Yesterday...**

"Oh yeah," Shayla said, "I remember you guys coming through the gate hooting after the Chieftain fight. It's always more fun when you don't know anything but your objective."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Nothing that's of any concern now, I guess."

Bapple stared curiously, and Shayla sighed at her own big mouth.

"The Gnoll Chieftain was actually looking for a way to get his people out of the war. He wanted peace or at least neutrality. Guess that didn't work out too well for him."

"But..."

"Don't feel bad. You're a hired sword. You didn't know. From what I hear, he's back on his feet anyway and probably looking for a new hat. I guess it wasn't such a decisive battle after all."

Shayla noticed Bapple looking at the ground and put an arm around her.

_The war's gonna take this poor girl's life away, whether she has a heartbeat or not._

**Back on the boat...**

The boat hit the beach of the so-called Perilous Ruins with a long, grinding noise. Bapple hopped over the bow, much more limber with her sword and shield still in the boat, and headed inside. She picked up a pebble and threw it at a painfully obvious trap to set it off. A couple Gnolls eventually wandered out to investigate and found Bapple with her hands in the air.

**At the Chieftain's arena...**

The sun beat on her as she walked the stone path, tightly surrounded by Gnolls half her size. Big Red was immediately obvious upon entering, and he turned to see her as they got close. He pondered for a moment, then he suddenly growled as the face became familiar.

Once again, Bapple raised her hands above her head to signal docility. The Chieftain rubbed his chin for a moment before making a gesture to the Gnolls to get away from her. Bapple nervously tried to find her voice.

"Hi," she waved slowly. "Do you understand me?"

The Chieftain snorted and looked at her. Then he turned around, pointed at one of the taller, white Gnolls behind him, and muttered something to it. It approached Bapple and waited patiently. Bapple wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Can you speak my language?"

There was a short pause before the Gnoll leaned forward a bit and pointed at its ear a few times.

"Okay... oh. Well. I have a message for him," she pointed. "Many weeks ago, we fought you. We should not have fought you."

She made a noticeable stop in her speech to allow the Gnoll to regurgitate it to the Chieftain in their language.

"I cannot make it better by saying I am sorry, but I am sorry. It was not I who ordered us to come here and fight, but I will take responsibility. That is why I come to you without weapons." She stopped again, and the Gnoll thought it over before turning to tell it to the Chieftain.

"I did not know of your politics; I was only given the order to kill. If I had known, I would have protested." She bowed her head and made a few small steps backward. The Gnoll recited the last bit of her speech to the Chieftain, but he remained silent.

Bapple started to sweat. She couldn't tell if the intensity was from the heat or the fact that she was defenseless. Still, she made no movements. The Chieftain finally moved from his statue-like position toward Bapple until he was looking straight down at her. He reached for her shoulders and firmly grasped them, lifting her into the air. His breath was awful, but Bapple tried her best to keep a solemn face.

He looked at her briefly, which felt far too long to Bapple, before putting her back down as delicately as he could manage. He put one of his giant hands to her head and she winced, but she only felt a breeze hit the top of her head. He removed her hat and placed it upon his own head, giving her what could only be the Gnoll equivalent of a grin for a brief moment. He then pointed at the entrance and gestured for her to leave.

Bapple, not completely sure if that experience had actually just happened or not, performed an awkward combination of a bow and a 180 spin before her legs regained their function and carried her forward. The Chieftain made another grunt behind her, and she soon found herself surrounded again, only less threateningly this time.

**Colhen, a few days later...**

Bapple slowly opened her eyes and stretched her arms upward, waking from a surprisingly sound sleep. She put on a bath robe and headed out of her room to wash herself. Tieve intercepted her in the common area.

"Good morning, Bapple! You look well rested!"

Bapple wasn't awake enough to form any words yet, but she couldn't help but smile in return because of Tieve's uplifting personality.

"This came for you via an unmanned boat today! At least I assume it's for you."

Tieve handed her a glass bottle. There was a small, off-white piece of parchment attached to it, very much like a label. On it was a crudely drawn picture of a girl with auburn hair and a heart on her cheek. Inside the bottle was another piece of parchment, tightly rolled.

Bapple neglected the washroom and ran out the door toward the forge.

"Ferghus," she asked, almost yelling, "I need a tool!"

"I'm right here, little lady. You can turn down the volume a bit," he said, smiling.

She pointed at the mouth of the bottle, pouting, before speaking again.

"I need something thin to get this paper out of here without breaking the bottle."

"Hm," Ferghus grabbed the bottle and inspected it closely as if it would help. "Shayla," he called out to the air, "where is -"

Before he could finish, Shayla poked her head out from the curtain that acted as her door and reached to Bapple with a tweezers-looking tool in her hand.

"Sorry Ferghy, you'll get it back sometime," she winked. "Hi Bapple," she said sweetly.

Bapple took the tool, said thanks, and rushed back to the inn to get to her room. She carefully reached inside the bottle with the long, metal arms of the tool and managed to snap a hold of the paper. Gently, she pulled it out and undid the string that kept it rolled. It was a note, worse-looking than the picture of her but still legible enough.

"Human girl brave come without sword. Gnolls not know what think, but decide. Is okay for now, but Gnolls not forget what happen before. Girl not come back here. Humans need girl for brain. Maybe girl come back later, but not today.

Thank for hat. Chief look pretty."

A tear streamed down her cheek as she smiled.

_Maybe there's a good ending for this war, just maybe._


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: The weight of a conscience**

"Where's Bapple?" was the question of the day. Her friends looked all over the small town, but there was no trace of her.

"Nope, not since yesterday when she needed some thin metal," Ferghus said.  
"I saw her yesterday morning, but that's it..." Tieve offered. "She got a strange bottle with her portrait on it."  
"Today? Nope. I've been here since daybreak, and no one's even taken a boat," the Crimson Blade lackie at the docks said.  
"You lost your apple? Sorry, kid, I've got Royal Army business to worry about," Gwynn answered sharply.

No one in the town had a clue, and all the usual hiding places were bare of anything but sheep and chickens.

"Well, there's only one way left for her to have gone," Nalus suggested, eying the carriage.

She, Dima, and Maks approached the carriage runner.

"Hey, kids! Fancy a trip to Rocheste? The next trip is in... now!"  
"Maybe. Has Bapple come through here today?"  
"Bapple? Oh, you mean the that other merc you all are always running around with. She didn't take a ride, but she did leave the town a few hours ago."  
"Do you know which direction she was headed in?" Nalus asked impatiently.  
"I barely noticed her, much less did I care where she was going. People go through this gate all day.

Nalus rolled her eyes and signaled the crew to follow her out to the field. They shared a collective sigh of hopelessness when they were reminded of the enormity of the field.

"Welp, she could be miles away by now," Nalus mumbled.  
"She's not the type to just abandon us for good. I bet she'll be back soon," Maks tried to sound hopeful.

Dima remained silent, staring at the horizon.

"You got anything to contribute?" Nalus asked. "I haven't cuddled with her under the moonlight, so you must know how she works better than I do."  
"How'd you... I mean... No, I don't know."  
"Just think. You've known her longer than I have. If you were Bapple and you wanted to slip away without our knowing, where and why?"

Dima scratched at the side of his head and looked around at the sheep for answers. Suddenly his eyes widened and he bolted off toward the long fence that separated the grazing area from the wilderness. The others caught up to him and found him looking at what was left of the bell tower in the distance. By the time Nalus and Maks noticed something on the grassy hill near the tower, Dima had already slid down the rocks and started running toward it.

Maks started to follow, but he felt Nalus' hand get a grip on his shoulder.

**At the bell tower...**

Bapple lay on the grass, sword and shield on the ground next to her, staring at the blue sky. She heard thundering footsteps and coughing getting close to her, and soon her vision was blocked by Dima's worried face.

"Hi there," she said nonchalantly.

Dima panted and looked confused, not having expected such a lackluster reunion. "Hi," he finally replied. He took a seat next to her and lied next to her. A comfortable breeze blew some puffy, white clouds across their field of view as they sat in silence. Bapple, hands behind her head, turned to look at Dima who was anxiously twiddling his thumbs over his chest.

"This is nice," she said after inhaling some fresh air through her nose. She removed a hand from behind her head and grabbed one of his, letting them hit the ground together with a thump.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Dima asked.  
"I'm seeing what it's like to be a normal person."

Bapple worked her fingers between his and squeezed.

"Like I said, it's nice."

Dima relaxed his arm and watched the clouds for a bit longer before speaking again.

"This is where it all started for you, huh?"  
"Yeah," she answered softly. "and I've been wondering if this is also where it'll end for me."

Dima sat up straight, still gripping her hand.

"What do you mean?"

Bapple freed her fingers and sat up, too. She grabbed her sword and planted it straight in the ground.

"I'll be a hundred percent with you. I think I'm losing my fighting spirit."  
"No way, not you," Dima said immediately, almost forcing a laugh.  
"Yes way. Well I suppose I still have my spirit. I just can't be sure what I'm fighting for, and that bothers me. This war bothers me."

Dima said nothing.

"Captain Aodhan tells us who to kill and we do it without a second thought."  
"But they're Fomors..."  
"And? That's exactly why it's gone on this long. Not all Fomors are out for us, you know. I just can't take this anymore, this slaughtering without a cause."

Dima, desperate to say something, could think of nothing. Suddenly, the silence was filled with a strange crackling noise.

The air in front of them twisted into a black circle, and their immediate surroundings were enveloped with a dark dome. Before them stood a rather large, horned Fomor.

Bapple jumped to her feet and pulled her sword out of the ground, studying the figure. It stood there menacingly, but that was all it did.

"Shakarr," Bapple finally spat out.  
"Haha, very good, human," it said in a deep, echoed, gravely voice.  
"Who?" Dima whispered to her.  
"The leader of the Fomors," she said cautiously.  
"Put down your weapon, human. I'm not actually here, you know. I just happened to be in the neighborhood and overheard the last part of your spiel. Very touching."  
"You just spy on us whenever you feel like it?" she said angrily.  
"Goodness me, no!" Shakarr said with a hearty laugh. "If I could do that on a whim, this would be a pretty quick war."

Bapple narrowed her eyes and looked at where his eyes should have been.

"That was supposed to be funny, human. Feel free to laugh. I'm not here to make any trouble."  
"What do you want, then?"  
"Well, as I said before, I overheard some of your ideals, and I hope I can change your mind. Don't get me wrong, human; you're a smart one. If everyone else, including Fomors, also had some sense, maybe things would be different. Anyway, I fear for the sake of the prophecy. If you back out now, the slaughtering without a cause, as you put it, will probably be reversed."

Shakarr's projection shifted its weight uncomfortably and sat down in a large chair that was invisible to them.

"You want me to keep killing Fomors? What prophecy?"  
"I want you to get _stronger_, human. The prophecy is beyond the scope of this little meeting."

Shakarr noticed Bapple was still in a defensive position.

"I may be the enemy of you and your people, but I respect you as an eventual rival. What I've said and what I will continue to say is all truth. Perhaps you will appreciate that in time."

Bapple kept giving him a piercing look, but she nodded.

"Shakarr," she said, "who was responsible for Ainle?"  
"Beats me," he tried to withhold a chuckle. "No Fomor I know of. Good job, by the way. You won me a sizable bet by putting down that arrogant Blood Prince."

Bapple's expression turned confused for a moment.

"You know, when the Evil Alliance of Human Haters gets together and watches you as if it's a spectator sport."

Bapple felt her mouth curl into a smirk just long enough for him to see.

"Well I must be going. It's tiring to keep up both a visual link and a barrier for so long. Stay sharp, human. Oh, and speaking of Ainle, good luck."

With that, Shakarr and the dark energy around them disappeared.

"Bapple?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Can we go back to being normal?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Back to the town in flames**

"Tell me why exactly we're back in Ainle," Maks shivered, "this place seriously creeps me out."  
"A very scary looking birdie told me," Bapple said plainly.  
"This smell is just as bad as it was last time. I'm gonna be sick," Nalus complained.  
"You better not be rusty, Gav!" Dima said, elbowing his friend.  
"Not a chance!" Gav swung at the air wildly.

Bapple rolled her eyes, somewhat contently, at her friends. They'd made a field trip to Rocheste earlier in the day to see if Gav was up for some dangerous fun. Remembering their last visit to Ainle, they figured it'd be wise to expand the team.

"Anyone wanna fill me in on what happened to this place? I remember coming to Ainle when I was young, and now it's permanently on fire," Gav tried not to recognize any landmarks as they walked.  
"No one I've talked to knows for sure," Dima said, "and anyone who does know probably wouldn't say. It's the only baseless attack on humans I've heard of."

The scent of burnt flesh wafted through their noses as they carefully stepped down the partly broken cobblestone path.

"It's kinda creepy hearing screams of lost souls," Gav remarked.

Bapple cocked her head, listening, and then stuck her arm out to stop the others.

"That's not a lost soul... yet."

She jumped over a short, metal garden fence and ran into a large pumpkin field with the others close behind.

A huge, bulky, red monster stood atop a steep incline, looking menacingly at something. As they got near, the looks and sounds of the person matched Ellis, Gwynn's cadet.

"Help me!" he shouted, terrified.

Gav reached into a sack and pulled out a bomb. He cocked back and launched it at the creature's head, but it didn't have quite enough power behind it and hit the chest before exploding. It reared back, surprised, and looked at the five.

"**GRRRAAWWW!**" it yelled out. It reached for Ellis, who was still frozen in fear, and picked him up easily with one hand. Ellis yelled out in pain as a bunch of the bones in his torso and arms were all broken at once when squeezed. He went limp from shock.

At this point, the group was already charging at him, but they were stopped by a newly formed line of fire right at the base of the incline. The source was a vampire with a long blade on its arm who looked similar to each of the Blood Prince's assistants in various ways. It had a red outfit and a metal helmet, and the blade started to gather flames again.

_SMACK! CRUNCH! PLOP._

They didn't have to look. They didn't want to look. The red creature leaped mightily from above them and shook the ground when it landed, level with them. It let out another loud roar.

"Pick your poison," Bapple spat out, jerking into motion toward the monster. It swung at her with a huge sickle, but she deflected it with her shield, jumped up, and used it to smash the creature in its nose.

Dima's hands glowed red and he charged at the fire starter. Maks and Gav pulled out two swords each and followed suit as soon as the clanging of blades began. At first, the vampire created a tall wall of fire to separate the fight from the other two and it blocked all of Dima's blows. However, Dima caught it off guard with a feint and stabbed it in its empty stomach with one of his spears, causing it to leap backwards and reassess. Before it had time to strategize, four blades came through the fire, poking at it repeatedly, and Gav and Maks simultaneously stabbed the ground; the resulting shockwave knocked the vampire off balance and onto its back.

Dima, Maks, and Gav all walked up to the quivering vampire. Theyheld their right weapons out in front of them and swiftly flipped them to point downward.

"For Ellis," Gav said.  
"For Ellis, the other two repeated.

After three synced stabs, the vampire went limp.

Meanwhile, Bapple and Nalus had been exchanging some heavy hits with Ellis' murderer. Bapple took a misstep and the creature hit her with its anvil of a fist. Nalus snapped her fingers, and a glowing skull over the creature's head disappeared as blood shot out of all of its wounds. It hesitated in pain for just long enough for Bapple to get on her feet again.

"He's rough," as she spat out a few drops of blood.  
"Stay put," Nalus said, starting to swing in its direction.

She landed a deep cut into its shoulder, pulled on a seemingly invisible string, and yanked her scythe back out. A glowing wisp appeared, flying at and around the monster as a distraction. When Nalus turned back around, she saw Bapple wiping her mouth and tossing a small, glass flask aside.

"If Brynn makes a cherry-flavored version of this, he'll be rich."  
"I should find something to turn into ergs for us," Nalus said worriedly.  
"No time. He's wearing out, but so is your little thing. Pick a big, juicy vein on his back."

Nalus quietly ran around to its rear as the wisp's life force ran out. The monster was confused for only a moment, but Bapple soon skidded into its line of sight, taunting it.

"C'mere!" she shouted.

It lumbered toward her at a deceptively fast pace. Bapple put her shield in front and charged, kicking up dust with every step. She'd picked up much more speed by the time they collided, and it was shortly dazed after the metal knocked its wind out. On cue, Nalus swung her scythe from over her head until the entirety of it had gone through the creature's back. It wailed in agony.

"Go ahead," Nalus said.  
"No. You were better acquainted with Ellis. He liked you a lot. This is all yours."

Nalus' throat did somersaults, and she snapped her fingers grimly.

**Shortly after...**

Nalus had been busy running around the field, turning a bunch of objects into shiny, red erg crystals to treat the wounds of herself and the other four. No one had said anything after they regrouped and sat down around a fire. They all took turns glancing at the top of the hill where the battered body of an old friend lay. Bapple decided to break the silence.

"Once we're all patched up and ready, let's keep moving."  
"We're not done?" Gav asked.  
"I doubt it. This felt like it was bad timing more than anything. Something's still waiting to happen."

The others sighed heavily. Bapple ignored it.

"We'll figure out what to do with Ellis when we're done. I won't allow this to be his burial ground."

Nalus got up to go to Bapple, who had since gone to another side of the field.

"You got any plans for whatever's waiting for us?"  
"Until someone makes a guide for every monster in existence, I won't ever have a plan 'til we're already bleeding."

Nalus smiled to herself. She'd learned to tell the difference between Bapple's sarcasm and bleakness.

"Time's up!" Bapple shouted. She climbed over the fence on the same hill Ellis was on and started walking toward the moon. The boys threw dirt on the fire until it suffocated and caught up with Nalus to give her a boost.

**In a large, enclosed area...**

Surrounded on all sides by combinations of metal fencing and brick walls, the group found themselves in an ominous looking courtyard. In the center was a large gravestone.

"On your guard," Bapple said.

The metal gate they entered through closed on its own with a loud clang.

"Could you try being wrong for once?" Maks complained.

Familiar, high-pitched screams of vampires pierced their ears. Transparent figures of slain enemies from both that day and the Blood Prince battle faded in and out of reality, lunging and reaching for the group. Slowly they fizzled into black smoke which was then sucked toward the gravestone in the center of the area, where it started to take shape. It started with two gigantic claws and ended with a large, humanoid body.

After forming completely, it hissed and vanished briefly before reappearing, upside down, in front of them. It vanished again and took form at the gravestone.

"Spread out, but not too much! Don't engage; just be defensive for now!" Bapple shouted.

_That's her way of saying 'I don't know what the hell to do,'_ thought Dima.

He was right although Bapple hoped she'd know what to do sooner than later. They formed a loose circle around it. It vanished and came back in front of Nalus. In a combination of quick thinking and panic, she used her own transportation spell; one of its claws barely missed her and hit a puff of smoke. She ended up behind him and spun around to knick its back with part of her scythe's blade. It hissed and also spun around, whacking her so hard she landed on her back.

Bapple realized this wouldn't work, but there wasn't enough time to think of something better. She abruptly abandoned her train of thought when the air around her got suddenly cold; the creature appeared in front of her and she blocked a heavy hit. As she looked into the soulless eyes, she struggled to remember a conversation with Brynn after coming back from Ainle the first time.

**Before...**

"Yeah, he was tough alright," Bapple said. "That's an understatement, really."  
"I would imagine. It's quite impressive that you bested him alone. I suppose that's also an understatement. I can't help but wonder where the rest are hiding, though."  
"Huh?"

**Present**

_WHOOSH!_

Bapple's recollection was interrupted by another swing. She twirled around to move out of the way and used the momentum to carry her sword at it, but it vanished and reappeared by Dima.

**Before...**

"Those commanders and most others answer to Blood Prince. However, he's not the one at the top of the chain, and there are a few of equivalent ranks. The most dangerous is Blood Lord."

Bapple balanced a thick book on top of her head.

"I'm listening."  
"Let's hope so. Anyway, the Blood Lord was sealed away by what some would consider dumb luck. By studying attack patterns, and that's describing the technique generously -"

Maks burst through the door.

"Bapple, Gwynn wants to talk to ya! She's pretty mad!"  
"Tell me something I don't know," she sighed, placing the book down, and shrugged at Brynn. "Duty calls."

**Present**

Bapple cursed herself as she checked how her comrades were faring. The beast, now identified as the Blood Lord, levitated high off the ground and shot fireballs in a circle around him. As he landed, Dima ran for him and managed to successfully stick a spear into one of the legs. Out of what seemed to be desperation, he then wrapped an arm around the leg and attempted to keep stabbing. The Blood Lord vanished.

"Dima!" Bapple shouted.

**Somewhere...**

Dima opened his eyes, only to have them immediately hurt with a burning pain. He tried to scream out, but there was no air to carry his voice. Tearing with pain, he gritted his teeth and tried his best to think rationally for as many seconds as he could manage.

_Every trick has a secret behind it_: those were the last words he thought before coming here.

Using the last of his energy, he opened his eyes wide and endured the pain; what he saw, briefly, was a wildly colored version of the scene he had just been in. It was very bright, and it would have induced a headache if he were not already in incredible pain. Something was different about this scene, though... Dima's muscles relaxed and he started to go limp.

**The courtyard**

The Blood Lord reappeared next to Maks and knocked him on his rear. Dima and his weapons fell to the ground with a soft thump. Bapple started to run to him, but Nalus stopped her.

"If he thinks Dima's dead, that's one less person he'll be attacking. Keep fighting. I gotta wake him up."  
"There's no time."  
"Make time."

Bapple nodded, spun around, and ran toward Maks, Gav, and the Blood Lord.

_Can't use Slashing High. Too much of a risk. We gotta keep him from noticing Nalus._

Unfortunately, Blood Lord turned his head in the exact direction Nalus was in as she stood over Dima's body. Bapple reached into her leather pouch and pulled out a Light of Palala bomb. She chucked it ahead of the Blood Lord and it exploded upon hitting the ground; an amazingly high pitched noise rang throughout the ears of all present, but only the Blood Lord was blinded by the accompanying flash. He stumbled back and forth which gave the three ample time to put some gashes in his body.

Pain and anger made him forget about Nalus; he zoomed across the ground, scorching it behind him, and circled them. She used the time to drop her scythe and hold her arms out to Dima, concentrating very hard. As if he were a string puppet, she lifted him from the ground and a red glow went from her hands to his body. Dima's eyes opened and he began to hyperventilate before realizing what was happening.

He dropped to his knees, caught his breath, and stood up weakly.

"Uhngh.. What happened... Wait..."  
"Feeling better?"  
"I guess you could call it that. I saw it! Where's -"

Dima looked until he saw the other three guarding against the Blood Lord's swings. He vanished once more.

"Bapple!" Dima yelled, "The skulls!"

Bapple's brain swirled in confusion as she tried to work out the past few seconds. Her eyes darted back and forth; she noticed six skulls on the ground, one of which now in pieces, scattered across the entire area.

"Everyone stand by one!" she shouted, barely giving it thought. They all ran quickly to separate skulls, finally recognizing the pattern. The air got colder once more, and Dima happened to be at the winning spot. The Blood Lord formed in front of him, and Dima muttered something explicit as he jabbed one spear through the chin and the other in the chest.

The Blood Lord made a fading hiss as the rest of the group came running to take separate jabs.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: No one said it'd be fun**

As the Blood Lord's life force drained away, he started to disintegrate into black ash. A mysterious wind caught it and threw it on the fires within the arena. Everyone exhaled with relief as the looming evil feeling in the area disappeared. Unfortunately, the smell remained.

"We did it!" Maks shouted.  
"Can we sit down now?" Gav whined.

They all plopped down and tended to their wounds.

"So," Nalus looked up from Gav's arm to Dima, "what happened to you when you grabbed his leg?"  
"It was scary. He didn't seem to notice me. I guess when he disappears, he temporarily goes to this strange other world. It looked like this place, but the colors were way off. Also there was no air, and it hurt a lot when I opened my eyes."  
"Maybe it was Hell," Bapple said grimly. Everyone gave her strange looks, so she brushed it off, "So what gave away the skulls?"  
"Well, there were 5 spots on the ground glowing very brightly. That was all I could notice before passing out from the pain."  
"Good job. I'm glad you made it back. That was really risky," Bapple looked at her hands.

Minutes later, Nalus decided it was time to acknowledge the worst task of the day.

"How are we gonna bring... Ellis?"  
"I've been thinking about it. I think we got a spare sail on the boat, so I'll go grab it," Bapple said.  
"I'll go with you just in case," Dima added as Bapple didn't wait up.

**At the boat...**

"Here it is," Bapple lugged the sail over her shoulder.  
"Who's gonna handle this?"  
"I'd really rather not, but I doubt anyone feels differently."  
"I'll do it. You need to reserve your tenacity for getting yelled at by Gwynn."  
"That means a lot to me, Dima," Bapple said, once again not waiting up.

**Colhen**

The twilight hours were coming to a close, and the town was quiet.

"You guys go in the inn or something," Bapple said, looking drearily at the outpost.  
"Always gotta be the hero," Nalus snarked.  
"I think it's for the best. Only one-fifth the chance of one of us snapping back at Gwynn when she blames us."

Bapple quietly pushed open the door of the outpost. Gwynn was leaning on a counter, not paying very much attention to the rant that Marrec was giving her.

". . . bunch of stuck-up military dogs! They won't even acknowledge the – hey Bapple!"

Bapple sighed to herself, wishing she could've put off being noticed for a bit longer. Gwynn turned to face her.

"Mercenary, I heard you and your band of merry men decided to, once again, attempt to make my hair fall out by going to Ainle without permission."  
"We found and defeated the one called Blood Lord today. The Fomor presence in the area seemed to vanish with his death." Bapple pulled a chair.

Gwynn raised an eyebrow.

"Good work, I suppose. I won't ask for any details; I don't need any further irritation. What's wrong, though?"  
"Hm?"  
"You always look as smug as you can be after disobeying me with positive results. You look distracted."  
"I wish I could enjoy your first display of humanity. Anyway, Blood Lord's not the only Fomor we found there today. We also found a large, red one wielding a huge sickle."  
"Kalis."  
"Sure. We found Kalis after following the sound of a human scream. We tried to distract him, but another vampire stopped us as we got close. We couldn't make it in time."  
"You did what you could. Everyone knows the risks of going to Ainle. What's important is... you..."

Gwynn's train of thought derailed and ran off a cliff as she noticed Bapple had been staring at one spot for the entire conversation: Ellis' post.

"N-no. I explicitly told him not to... You can't mean him."

Bapple could only look away. Gwynn clenched her fists, but she only quietly walked out of the outpost.

**About an hour later...**

Bapple sat at the same table still. She laid her head on her folded arms and continued to stare gloomily at the empty spot next to the counter, unaware of anything else. Every time Marrec started to go over to her, Ceara silently stopped him.

Gwynn walked through the door and very stiffly walked over to Bapple's table.

"Mer... Bapple, I want to speak with you off the record."

Bapple's gaze, and nothing else, shifted toward Gwynn's eyes. Gwynn leaned in to speak softly.

"As a human I mean. I assume you don't know why Ellis was there, and I know you weren't lying when you said you and your friends did all you could. In fact, had you all not been going on unknown intel in the first place, no one would have known. Chance brought you there, but chance didn't give you enough time. All I will ask of you is the location of the body."  
"The boat," Bapple said in a strained whisper, "wrapped up in a sail. Please don't look inside."

With that, Bapple stood up and lumbered outside.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: True colors**

"Remind me why we're here _again_?"

An uncomfortably warm breeze blew from all directions toward the center of the courtyard in Ainle. Once again, a humanoid shape began to form. Bapple held on to her hat and turned to Dima.

"A hot tip from Gallagher. Now if only someone could remind me why I listed to him of all people Let's not give this one a chance!"

Bapple, Dima, Nalus, and Maks sprinted toward the middle. The being let out half of a hiss before getting hit at four different angles. It let out a burst of energy, blowing them all backward, and vanished.

"I'm not dealing with this again!" Bapple shouted, annoyed. She closed her eyes, focused for a moment, and ran sword-first to one of the five remaining skulls.

_Squish_.

It gagged almost as soon as it reappeared; Bapple's sword went straight through its stomach. As it fell to its knees, it disintegrated familiarly, but the dust turned into a thick book. Bapple reached down to grab it, and a dark cloud appeared between her and the others. A hooded figure came from it.

"Fools! Where is the Emperor?" said a voice that could only be Nyle.  
"Uh, if you mean the ugly thing that turned into this book, we've had much tougher fights."

Nyle walked over to Bapple and examined her up and down.

"Interesting. This may confirm some suspicions Brynn and I had. Anyway, you certainly didn't summon him on a whim. Who brought you..." Nyle began to scowl. "Gallagher."

Lightning-quick, he turned his head to an inconspicuous looking rock; moments later, it crumbled and revealed Gallagher hiding behind it.

"Bapple," he said, "and the rest of you. Please kill Gallagher. One rat is too many for the Silent Brotherhood. He brought you here hoping it'd kill you." Poof.

The others gathered around Bapple, and they all looked at Gallagher who was now sweating uncontrollably. Bapple felt the weight in her hands disappear as the book faded away, leaving behind four points of bright light. Two of them turned black, but somehow remained just as bright. All four suddenly raced into the chests of all present, the white lights going to Bapple and Maks and the black lights going into Nalus and Dima.

Bapple slowly walked toward Gallagher as she was enveloped by light. With each footstep, more and more of a shiny, armored body was revealed. She held out a very long, glowing sword and pointed it at Gallagher's neck. A foreign voice spoke alongside her own.

"**You who have brought the children here to die, your long-due judgment is upon you. I, as well as the other spirits, believe you deserve a swift death immediately. However, my vessel does not wish to kill you. As such, you will not die by my sword. Pray to your god that the others are as merciful.**"

Gallagher scrambled to his feet and, in a bright flash of light, saw the group vanish.

**Colhen**

Each of them reappeared in his or her bedroom with mysteriously battered armor and a confused facial expression. Each was also now immensely tired.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: With great power...**

"Nyeeeh. You rookies think you're hot stuff now, I bet. Now that you can turn all shiny and have scary voices. Just remember, you're as unimportant as you were the day you arrived here."

Nalus, Dima, and Maks groaned, trying to ignore the noise. Gallagher had since resumed his position at the outpost, a position which was not well-defined but annoying nonetheless. A loud creaking sound signaled Bapple's entrance.

"The leader of the losers has arrived! The gang's all here!"

Bapple kept walking straight rather than heading for the table. Picking up speed, she clenched her fist and threw it at Gallagher's face, knocking him back into a bookshelf and on his rear. Crossing her arms, she walked over and looked down at him as he recollected his wits.

"What was that for?" Gallagher asked, holding his head and starting to get back up. Bapple lifted her leg and thrust her foot at his chest, putting him back on the ground.

Her friends remained sitting, wide-eyed and trying not to giggle. Aodhan, on the other hand, was not so idle.

"Bapple!" he ran over, placing his hands on her shoulders. "What's gotten into you?"

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and slowly exhaled, as if to drain the adrenaline from her body before answering.

"He's had it coming, and you know that. Now he's just asking for it."  
"You can't just do that on a whim in a place like this!"  
"If I did it in private, who'd stop me?"

Aodhan sighed, turning her around and walking her out with a hand on her back. Gwynn was standing at the doorway and moved to let them through.

"Nice hook, mercenary. Perhaps I should tell you and your friends you don't have permission to hit him," she showed the faintest sign of a smirk.  
"Gwynn, please," Aodhan said, coughing to cover up a chuckle.

As Aodhan attempted to cool down Bapple, Gwynn and the others looked at Gallagher.

"You, the loudmouth," Gwynn said, "you've made quite a mess there. I don't have authority over the outpost, of course, but that Ceara woman probably won't be happy to see this."

Gallagher scowled, getting up and walking outside, ignoring the mess. Gwynn creeped to the doorway after him and beckoned the others.

**Meanwhile...**

"I see," Aodhan said, just having heard the abridged story of the day before. "I think I do, anyway."

The two were standing in the shade under the wooden bridge that wrapped around the outpost and traveler shop.

"It's a bit more detailed than that, but I guess I'll have to tell you later," Bapple said, watching their approaching guest.

Gallagher, fuming, walked up to Bapple. Leaning against the wooden wall, she only gave him an irritated look.

"You think you can make a fool of me, rookie? I'm not afraid to hit a girl," he said through his teeth, preparing to launch his arm.

Bapple made a quick, sideways chop at his throat. As he instinctively grabbed it, in pain, she extended her arm and ran forward in the style of a clothesline on wheels. He hit the ground hard and had the air knocked out of him. Once again, she took a deep breath, partly as a signal to Aodhan that the beating was done, and slowly exhaled.

"I'm really getting tired of the 'rookie' thing. I might have let you keep running your mouth if you at least called me Miss Bapple or something."

Gallagher coughed and choked wimpily, slowly trying to get up.

"Don't you remember what happened the last time you got up?" Bapple flicked his forehead. "I got some holy spirit inside me who's just itching to give you what you deserve. Would you like me to keep exhibiting some self control, or should I paint my boots with your face? Huh, _rookie_?"

Gallagher curled up into a ball and started sobbing.

"That's enough, Bapple. Stand down," Aodhan said, not looking at her. Bapple shrugged and walked away toward Brynn's laboratory.

**Bapple's head...**

"Young one, I advise you to be careful with your emotions."  
"You're the one who wants to kill him so badly!"  
"Either kill him or do not kill him. There is no middle ground. You initially spared him because of the good in your heart. Presently, the anger is clouding your thoughts."

**Brynn's lab...**

"Damn it, Bapple," Brynn said, quickly slamming the door behind her. "Yes, he's an imbecile, but control yourself."  
"You and this voice in my head are giving me a lot of lip for some trouble I didn't start."  
"I understand your frustration. Bear with me, please. Speaking of the voice, would you mind letting me speak to it directly?"  
"I really don't wanna have to patch up this outfit again," Bapple sighed.  
"Then take it... er," Brynn blushed.  
"Oh, Brynn!" she teased. "Don't look."

**A minute later...**

A bright light filled the room and then receded back to Bapple's body. Her head went limp for a moment as she switched consciences with the paladin.

"Hello," it said in its otherworldly voice.  
"This is interesting, indeed," Brynn said.  
"Make haste. This form does not last for a lot of time at once."  
"Hm, I suppose I'll ask the most important things now. Bapple can apparently converse with you at will. Why was the book inside the Emperor?"  
"I do not know."  
"Why did you and the others choose Bapple and her friends?"  
"The book would not appear to any unworthy persons. Any choice of ours was preference, not timing."  
"I see. Why is Gallagher alive?"  
"My vessel did not think it was right to kill him."  
"So you can't act on your own will?"

It thought for a moment.

"If in control, I would not do anything that my vessel did not approve of. I also would not interfere with her control unless she were to either willingly switch or lose consciousness."  
"That is a guarantee?"  
"Correct."  
"What about the rest of the time when she is not in a transformed state?"  
"I remain dormant and unobtrusive unless she wishes to speak to me or, in cases like today, she begins to stray from the path of the paladin."  
"That's good," Brynn almost laughed. "She'll need someone to yell at her when she's not in my lab."

The bright aura around Bapple's body began to fade.

"I guess that's it for now," Brynn said. "It was nice to meet you. Take good care of her."

Bapple's head slowly nodded before she fell to the floor, not having regained control quickly enough. Brynn quickly spun around to face the other direction.

"Thank you," he said to the air.  
"No problem," Bapple said quietly, putting her Sharpshooter outfit back on. "Are you going to talk to the others?"  
"No, I don't think I've any reason to. I'm sure they'll all tell the same story, and one of you is quite enough for today."

Brynn stared at his desk for a while, waiting for Bapple. He started to tap his foot impatiently.

"Are you clothed yet?" he asked. No answer.

He turned back around. Bapple was dressed, but she was crying silently into her hands.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: And my bow**

Bapple and company sat at the outpost, drinking up after another victory. Gallagher kept his distance.

"Did you guys see how I manhandled that werewolf alone?" Maks boasted.  
"Yeah, if any of the rest of us had a dog treat, we coulda made him roll over, too," Nalus flicked his head, "We were a bit busy with the dangerous one."  
"But good job! Who took on the other one, though?" Bapple patted him reassuringly, taking another swig.  
"There was only Black Breeze and the smaller, brown one," Nalus said flatly.  
"He musta tackled me harder than I thought!"

As the four laughed and drank loudly, the outpost door opened with its usual creak.

"Ah, Dijkstra! How's that report of yours coming along?" Aodhan laid a hand on the young man's shoulder.  
"Mmm," he responded, handing a small stack of papers to Aodhan.  
"Good! I'll have Gwynn look over the intel when she's back." He noticed Bapple and Nalus gawking at the one who'd just walked in. "I take it you all haven't met Dijkstra yet? He's another mercenary. Definitely pulls his weight around here. He's been investigating the Prairie and Ruins of Sanctity, tracking Gnoll movements."

Bapple stood up and held out a hand to shake his. Dijkstra placed an arm at his stomach level and bowed, then grabbing her hand to kiss it softly. Her face got darker as Dima's got paler.

"I have heard of your exploits," Dijkstra said with a noticeable foreign twist.  
"We've been busy," Bapple attempted to remain modest. "Say, Captain, if the metric for tracking Gnolls happened to be total blood spilled..."  
"Well," Aodhan laughed, "Dijkstra's gotten himself into a heap of his own trouble, but he's gotten out of it pretty swiftly each time. The last I saw him before today was a week ago when we sent him out to deal with Everwhite and Dim Gray, two high ranking Gnoll officers, and I'm sure these papers are related to the job."

Bapple eyed Dijkstra up and down.

"Hmm. Come outside." She trotted to the table, grabbed her half-eaten apple, and pivoted and walked out the door into the sunlight. Dijkstra looked at Aodhan, shrugged, and followed her. The rest ran to the window.  
"Take that bow out," Bapple said.

Dijkstra pulled it off his back and readied an arrow.

Bapple took another bite of her apple and then heaved it into the air without any kind of warning. Dijkstra glanced upward and immediately fired into the sky. The apple landed with a _THUD_ next to a nearby building with the arrow stuck in it.

Bapple stood akimbo, looking at Dijkstra.

"How would you like to be on a team?"  
"What is in it for me?" he smiled.

Bapple thought it over.

"I dunno. I haven't had to ask before."  
"It must be a good team, then. I think I would like it. The captain says you are thrill seekers?"  
"Well, I think the thrill seeks us sometimes, but we get enough excitement."

**Back in the outpost...**

Aodhan chuckled as they walked in.

"Seems all the talent that walks into this town ends up hanging around Bapple. I'm only surprised it didn't happen sooner."

Dijkstra walked over to Ceara in the corner to help her sweep the floor.

"Well," Bapple started, practically ignoring Aodhan, "I know you guys might be a bit peeved about my adding someone to the team without consulting you at all. I happen to think it's a great idea, but you can freely yell at me right now if you want."  
"He's a good shot, and we were lacking in range. It's probably good," Dima said. Bapple raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.  
"Even better if we can get to know him," Nalus added. "He's got a bit of a barrier there."

**The next morning...**

The fab five stood together at the docks.

"Alright, so we've got two missions to take care of," Bapple addressed the others, pacing. "One is fairly straightforward, and the other involves, well, another Gnoll. Gwynn wants us to check out the deepest part of Hoarfrost, and we've also gotta finish the job in the prairie."

Nalus raised a hand.

"Who do I look like, Gwynn? Go ahead!" Bapple said.  
"Should we split up?"  
"Yeah, well, I was getting to that. Black Scar is the leader of the Gnolls, but we already know what to expect from them, so there's no point in using up a day each for these missions. I think Dijkstra should be on the prairie boat, given his accomplishments before today, but from there I don't care who goes where. Opinions?"

They talked amongst themselves.

Maks spoke up, "Bapple, even if the Hoarfrost job is just reconnaissance, I think we should anticipate some resistance just to be safe."  
"Agreed. How about you and Nalus in Hoarfrost?"

The two nodded in agreement and immediately walked to board a free boat.

"Let's not keep the Gnoll king waiting, yeah?" Dijkstra said, walking to the adjacent boat. After he boarded, Dima turned to Bapple.  
"Was there any secret reasoning for your matchups?"  
"Secret? Nope. You and I have had each other's back in every fight to this day, and I'd like to see this guy's performance in person."  
"Oh, okay," Dima looked half dejected, half relieved.

Bapple briefly rubbed his cheek and then headed for the boat.

– – –

_* The new guy's name is pronounced "dike-struh" - at least it's not Russian again!_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Split-screen**

**At Fobellow Prairie...**

"This place is eerily quiet, even with that mechanical saw going back and forth across the ground," Bapple looked around, somewhat nervously.  
"Most opposition has been... dealt with," Dijkstra said in his usual foreign twang.

The three cautiously walked through the now empty land as the sun beat on them.

"I'm gonna find some wood and start a campfire. Good luck and all that," Bapple trotted off to beat down a hut.

Dijkstra turned to Dima.

"Please do not feel so tense around me. I know my introduction to your team was... informal. I place my trust in all four of you, and I hope for the same in time. And," he glanced at Bapple, "I am not here to undermine anything, my friend." He extended a hand. Dima shakily reached for it, then firmly shook it, smiling.  
"After this, let's have a drink at the outpost," Dima suggested.  
"Yes."

Bapple hollered at them from a distance.

"Quit gossiping! C'mere and sit down!"

**Minutes later...**

They approached a giant rock structure with a wooden doorway in the middle of it.

"This is Black Scar's location, if the map is correct," Dijkstra said. "Are we ready?"  
"I guess we better be," Dima pointed to Bapple, who was already prying open the door.

They wandered inside and were greeted by three huge, hammer-wielding Gnolls as well as one who could only be Black Scar.

"**_ROOOOOOAR!_**"

Black Scar flung an axe at them, narrowly missing. Dijkstra responded by sending an arrow straight into the eye of a hammer Gnoll, infuriating all three of them.

"Go for the chief. I will join you momentarily."

Bapple and Dima chose not to argue, running around the Gnolls toward Black Scar. The hammer Gnolls went straight for Dijkstra, but he was already taking careful aim at the one in front. Dijkstra's hand began to glow before he released the arrow; it went through the first Gnoll, then the second and third as well, finally going off into the distance somewhere. It dazed them long enough for Dijkstra to run up, leap, extend his leg, and hit all of them with a spinning kick.

Meanwhile, Dima ducked, nearly receiving a haircut from axe number four.

"Where does he keep all these?!"

Bapple was too busy guarding a flurry of hits and then rolling out of the way to respond. As Black Scar put all of his weight into one missed swing, Bapple went shield and shoulder first into his body, knocking him back a few feet. Now performing a routine, she immediately backed off; on cue, Dima came in like a spiked frisbee, putting a few gashes in Black Scar's body.

Black Scar roared in pain, seemingly shaking the ground, and both ran in opposite directions to avoid a bunch of quick, successive swings.

"Wonder when Dijkstra plans on joining us?" Bapple asked as they regrouped together.

As if to answer, an arrow flew through the air and landed precisely in the middle of Black Scar's metal mask. The mask cracked in half and fell off his face, warranting another roar. Black Scar made a line straight for Dijkstra, who was kneeling and aiming his bow which had inexplicably become longer in length. His hand glowed once more as he released, and the arrow seemed to grow in size and power during its journey. The arrow knocked Black Scar off balance; he put his hand on the ground, breathing heavily.

Bapple and Dima nodded at each other, running toward the huge Gnoll. Bapple leaped onto his back and drove her sword straight into his spine. He reeled back, throwing her off and sending her to the ground. Dima took the opportunity to jab him in the stomach with both spears. He stumbled and stumbled, finally falling to the ground and quickly going limp.

Dima ran to Bapple and reached out to help her up.

"You coulda been my hero and dove to catch me, y'know," she said, attempting to get her breath back.  
"You okay?"  
"I'll live, unfortunately."

They pulled out their weapons from Black Scar's carcass and collected anything they didn't want to come back for. Bapple climbed on to Dima's back, and they headed back to the ship alongside Dijkstra.

"Sharp shootin' there," Dima said, offering a fist. Dijkstra hesitated before remembering how to return the gesture.  
"Ah, but I only stole your glory. I can tell you two have been in a lot of battles together."  
"Yeah, not much communication necessary until it gets really scary. All four of us, five if you count one of our friends who's now in Rocheste, flow together pretty well."

"Hopefully Nalus and Maks do not need to flow today."

**Depths of Hoarfrost...**

"I was kinda hoping to be done with Kobolds," Maks said, sending a foot to the face of what looked like a miniature eskimo.

He started to move to the next hallway, but Nalus stopped him.

"Hold on, you're wounded."  
"It's just a cut!"  
"Yeah, and it's a few inches long."

Maks sighed, holding out his arm. Nalus grabbed a clay pot, waved a hand around it, and it exploded into red crystals. She caught one mid-flight and held it above the bleeding spot until the arm healed.

"Why d'ya think Bapple put you and me together?" Maks asked, now strutting confidently in front of her deeper into the cave.  
"What, you don't like being paired with me?"  
"Of course I do! Not like that I mean. But you know. I don't know. I'm not your girlfriend like she is."  
"I'm sure she has her reasons. Either way, we should all be able to work fluidly together no matter what the setup is. Whether it's – are you listening?"

He wasn't. Maks had already started hacking his way through some huge icicles to make way for both of them.

"Whoa," he pointed forward, having cleared the way, "what are those?"

Before them, in the middle of the room, stood a handful of furry, white creatures with horns. Before they could look at the things any longer, a Kobold ran up and smacked the wits out of all three at once with a huge club.

"Well I guess that's deep enough for today," Maks said dryly.  
"He looks pretty boring," Nalus looked for any suspicious jetpacks or glowy objects on the Kobold's person.  
"Wanna try that move we thought up on the way here?"  
"Don't skewer me."

Nalus ran carelessly toward the Kobold without any sort of a battle stance. It howled, in the familiar Kobold way that filled the entire room with piercing echos, and charged at her. It put a lot of might into one swing, expecting a satisfying contact. However, the club hit air as Nalus reappeared behind him; one of Maks' swords then stabbed him in the shoulder. It screeched in pain, and Nalus swung her scythe, knocking its club to the ground.

It looked up at her pathetically. She held a hand in front of her as Maks raised his sword over his head, signaling for him to stop.

"What gives?" he asked.

Nalus ignored him, kneeling down. Now eye to eye with the Kobold, she spoke quietly.

"Get out of here, and don't be in our way again when there's more of us."

It took the hint and scrambled away, deeper into the cave.

"What was that for?" Maks complained.  
"I can readily think of one person who'd do the same."  
"Didn't we already slaughter everything on our way in?"  
"If you wanna go ensure a hundred percent score, I'm sure he hasn't gotten far," she crossed her arms.  
"Fine, fine. I just don't see the point. At least we got this thing out of it," he lugged the club behind him.

**At the Mercenary Outpost...**

Dima and Dijkstra were sitting at a table, sipping on drinks, when Maks and Nalus walked in.

"Took ya long enough!" Dima shouted, pulling out a seat next to him.  
"Maybe if Hercules here could walk a little faster with our souvenir, we coulda been here before nightfall" Nalus said, sitting next to Dijkstra. "How'd your trip go, and where's Bapple?"  
"Fine and asleep, in that order," Dijkstra offered, signaling in the air for two drinks.  
"Yeah, she conked out right after the fight was over," Dima added. "Got plenty of quality time with Eagle Eye here, at least. Did you guys find anything interesting?"  
"Some Kobolds in new clothes and a few furry, white creatures," Maks grabbed a fresh mug and took a gulp.

Gwynn approached the table.

"Furry, white creatures, you say?"  
"Yeah, they had horns and were pretty round. Nothing I've seen before."  
"Sounds like... No, couldn't be," Gwynn shook her head. "Give me a full report tomorrow. I'm too tired to deal with it tonight. See you all."

She walked out the door.

"Hm, something Gwynn doesn't want to believe in. Sounds like we're taking a field trip to Brynn's lab tomorrow," Nalus said.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Deeper we go**

**Fields, on the outskirts of Ainle in midday...**

"You're it!" Dima whacked Gav on the arm and kicked up dirt running away from him.  
"Come back here!"

Dima didn't look where he was going and tripped over a rock on the ground. He landed face-first in the dirt and looked up to see Bapple, sitting inches away from where he hit. She smiled at him and blew dandelion pieces into his face. Suddenly, her facial expression changed to surprise, and she turned away, covering her head.

"Dogpile!" said Maks' voice from somewhere nearby.  
"Oof! Ow!" Dima shouted as his two friends subsequently landed on top of him.

Nalus walked over and gently sat down on top of the pile of boys, looking wistfully at the forests in the distance.

"Bapple!" Shayla's voice called out from behind them. "You better wash up soon! Dinner's on its way!"

They, all who were able, turned their heads. Shayla was hanging clothes up on a line, hair blowing in the breeze.

"Can my friends eat with us tonight?" Bapple yelled back.  
"Of course, sweetie. I always make enough for a small army! Where's the other one? DJ or Dynamite or something?"

It started thundering. Bapple looked up in the sky, but it was still beautiful out in all directions. She heard a muffled voice and more thundering.

_Oh no_, she thought. _Please no..._

**Bapple's room at the inn...**

"Ugh. What what what?" Bapple cursed to herself, opening her eyes and covering herself with the sheets.

The door opened a bit and Dima peeked through the gap.

"Are you okay?"  
"What's it to ya?"  
"I'll take that as a yes. You've been sleeping for quite a while, so I just wanted to check on you."  
"Uh huh."

She heard Dima turn around and start going back down the hallway.

"Could you come in for a sec?" she asked the air.

Dima returned and carefully opened the door, walking in and sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Were you having a nice dream?" Dima asked, not looking at her.  
"Does it count as a bad dream if I'm sad after I wake up?"

Dima said nothing, only putting his hand over hers and squeezing.

**Brynn's lab...**

"The thing you're describing could only be a Yeti," Brynn said, looking up over a steaming flask, "and that's highly unlikely."  
"You don't believe us?" Maks pleaded.  
"Of course I do. You lot are annoying, but trustworthy. The Royal Army, on the other hand, will have none of that without any hard proof."

Maks and Nalus both groaned.

"Well it shouldn't be much trouble for you all to go find them again."  
"Yeah, but it's so discouraging to go all the way there, spend a few minutes finding an unsuspecting Yeti to maim, bringing something back, and undoubtedly being told to go back again to do something productive," Nalus said.  
"Well, at least you know how things work," Brynn almost smiled.

**Outside the outpost...**

Bapple and Dima sat against the wall and saw Nalus and Maks approaching. The two sat on the ground in front of them to fill them in on what Brynn had said.

"So we gotta take a boat all the way there, grab one thing, come all the way back, and then do it again tomorrow except with more bruises," Bapple rolled her eyes.  
"That's what I said," Nalus sighed.

Dijkstra walked out of the outpost door and smiled when he saw everyone gathered.

"Hello, friends!"  
"Hey. Long story short, Nalus and Maks found some Yeti in Hoarfrost yesterday. That's farfetched to anyone but us, so we gotta go back and grab a souvenir to prove it."  
"I see. Shall we get going, then?"  
"Let's keep some people here since this isn't a 5 man job," Bapple said. "Nalus and Dima, do you guys wanna start on a report of your findings?"  
"Not really, but it beats going," Maks said.  
"Ditto," Nalus folded her arms.

Gwynn walked out the door next and looked down at the group.

"Ah, my favorite conspirators. I won't even ask." She kept walking toward the path to Rocheste.  
"Okay then," Dima said after an uncomfortable silence. "I'll go."  
"I will as well," Dijkstra placed a hand on his own chest.  
"Mind if I sit out?" Bapple asked.  
"Go ahead," Dijkstra said, "it will allow us more...male bonding."

**Two days later at the outpost...**

The five sat lazily around a table, waiting for Gwynn to speak.

"I've just heard from the Royal Army. They find this Yeti business quite unsettling. We'll probably be seeing someone from Rocheste very -"

The door creaked open.

"Hello."  
"Torrin!" Gwynn looked genuinely surprised.

A quiet looking priest in all white walked inside.

"Good to see you, Gwynn. These must be the ones I've heard about. Nice to meet you all. My name is Torrin."

They all murmured their greetings.

"I had to come myself when I'd heard what happened. This is most disturbing news. I must ask you all to investigate further, if you would."  
"Welp, the day is young! Let's get going," Bapple said after the collective sigh.  
"Do you have any idea what you're going to find?" Torrin looked concerned.  
"No, do you?"  
"No."  
"Okay, as long as we're all on the same page."

Bapple and the others walked out one by one and headed for the docks.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Deeper we go (pt. II)**

"Ah!"

A wrecking ball of a Yeti, dull yellow in color, bowled into Dijkstra after turning around unexpectedly quickly. Fortunately for the rest, it'd gathered too much momentum and tripped over him afterward.

"On it!" Nalus shouted.

She vanished in a puff of smoke, reappearing next to the Yeti before giving it a huge gash the length of her scythe's blade. It howled in pain, clutching its side. Nalus snapped her fingers, and it went silent.

All present heaved a sigh of relief. They then remembered Dijkstra laying on the ground. Maks ran over first, holding out a hand.

"Thank you," Dijkstra coughed, grabbing it. "I'm sorry, all, for my amateur mistake."  
"Don't sweat it," Dima brushed off Dijkstra's back, "cracking some ribs is part of the job description. You alright there?"  
"Yes, I just need to catch my breath."

Meanwhile, Bapple was kicking down wooden huts in the room and hauling their logs to the center, placing rocks around the pile. Nalus approached and snapped her fingers, setting them ablaze neatly. They all plopped down by the fire, a bit exhausted.

"We're already tired? Not a good sign," Bapple placed her hand near the fire, stretching it.  
"What would you do without me?" Nalus grinned.

She took out a pouch, grabbed a pinch of dust, and sprinkled it on the fire, causing a pink smoke to come out. Everyone took a few deep breaths and felt the aches in their muscles start to disappear.

"Do I even wanna know what I just inhaled?" Maks asked.  
"It's just a revitalizing herb and some stuff to make it not smell awful. If you start hallucinating, it's not my fault."

**Minutes later in the next room...**

"So we're practically at the next hallway, and I can't help but notice we haven't been ambushed by a dozen Kobolds and twice as many spiders yet," Dima said.

They entered a spacious room containing only a few huts and some wooden fencing.

"On your guard," Dijkstra warned.

All five cautiously walked into the room, looking in different directions.

"Is it just me," Nalus pointed upward, "or is that not a very convincing block of ice?"

They looked up and saw a big, round, red tuft of fur hanging from the ceiling. It began to expand and contract, faster and faster, before dropping to the ground and revealing limbs as thick as tree trunks.

"**_GRRRRAAAAAWR!_**" it shouted at them, beating on its own chest.

"This is Rockjaw," Dijkstra said in a strangely calm tone. "His looks match that of what I saw in one of Brynn's books. He is their king."  
"Not the best time for trivia!" Bapple shouted, making a line for one of the smaller Yetis who came to assist Rockjaw.

All of them spread out around the room.

"Take out the little ones. Quickly!" Dijkstra shouted. He took aim at Rockjaw and launched a shot; he then fired once more at the ground underneath.

Rockjaw attempted to lumber angrily toward Dijkstra, but then noticed he was chained to the ground. He roared again, pulling frantically at the chain. Dima was the first to take out a Yeti and turned around to face Rockjaw. Ignoring any context of what Rockjaw was doing, Dima blindly ran forward, hands glowing red. He reached out with both arms, wingspan extended by the length of his spears, and began what he enjoyed calling Hurricane Dima.

Rockjaw paid no mind to what was going on behind him until a sharp pain in his rear. Dima inadvertently cut the chain in two, not even noticing it, while spinning around. Rockjaw had been pulling away from the ground very tightly at that moment, so the unexpected release sent him flying forward and onto his face. He pounded the ground with both fists angrily, getting himself back up. Now enraged, he didn't care what his target was as long as he hit something. He turned to Bapple, who had just thunderously landed her foot in the face of the late Yeti.

Rockjaw crouched, grabbed the sides of his head, and rolled forward with more acceleration than anyone would've given him credit for. Bapple barely turned her head and saw a red blur approaching and felt the sting of fright go through each artery connected to her heart. In a split second...

_Wake up!_ She said in her thoughts, only hoping to not get squished.

A blinding light filled the room, revealed to be from Bapple's body once it lowered in intensity. Rockjaw's roll had come to an abrupt stop, and he shielded his eyes.

"Tell me, Yeti," said a voice that was not Bapple's, "what has awakened you and your brethren? We do not wish to interfere more than we have."  
"_**MMMMMRAAAAAAHH!**_"  
_I think your accent was a little off. Didn't sound enough like a roar. It's all in the belly_, thought Bapple from somewhere within her own body.

Rockjaw raised a fist and sent it flying downward at Bapple's body. The paladin reached up with Bapple's arms and caught Rockjaw by the wrist, holding it overhead with not much effort displayed.

"If you all would be so kind," said the paladin.

The others snapped out of their daze and ran toward the giant Yeti.

"Hit it with all you've got in 5 seconds!" Nalus shouted. She closed her eyes, mumbled a few words, then slammed the hilt of her scythe into the ground. Pieces of ice began to fly upwards, and Rockjaw looked very confused as he began to levitate.

Dijkstra flipped out the sides of his bow and took aim.

Dima and Maks both held their weapons behind them, preparing to strike.

Bapple's head dropped for a moment as she regained control, and she put her shield in front of her.

"Now!"

Nalus raised her scythe, exhausted, and Rockjaw landed with a slam, dizzying him. Dijkstra let go of the string and sent a huge, glowing arrow forward, throwing himself onto the ground with recoil. Dima and Maks, weapons now charged with red energy, made crescent-shaped strikes, from underneath and overhead respectively, into the hide. Bapple charged forward, with enough force in her legwork to dig through the ground, and rammed into Rockjaw.

The king of the Yetis sat there, bleeding, aching, and surrounded. Bapple grabbed Dijkstra's arm with a glowing hand and pulled him off the ground.

"All yours," she said.

Dijkstra ran toward Rockjaw, leaped upward, and landed gracefully on the neck. He put the ends of three bows at once between his fingers, readied the bow, and ended it.

**On the boatride home...**

"Alright, we didn't forget any souvenirs this time, did we?" Nalus asked.  
"Nope, we got all we could carry and then some," Maks grinned.

Bapple sat on the side, covering her newly torn-up clothes with a spare sail, blushing. Dima walked over and kneeled in front of her.

"Cold?"  
"Shut up."

**At the outpost...**

They all walked in together after Bapple had acquired a change of clothes. Gwynn and Torrin stood, waiting, accompanied by a new man. He was blonde, red in the face, and wore an expensive-looking brown coat. The five paid him no mind and dropped the gathered items on the floor in front of them.

"We didn't forget about you while we were in Hoarfrost. We picked up these trinkets for you," Bapple smiled.  
"Very good, outstanding in fact. We will have to hold off on that discussion, though," Torrin said.  
"Ahem," the new man said.

Gwynn stood up straight and addressed them.

"Mercenaries, this is Deputy Commander Riordan of the Rocheste Royal Army."  
"Hiya," Nalus waved.  
"Hmph. Lowly mercs," Riordan spat out.

Gwynn sighed.

"Anyway, Riordan, like I was telling you, these are the ones who've been contributing so much. I trust they have even more good news for us, judging by the collectibles."  
"You bet," Dima said. "We don't have a formal report yet, but -"  
"You can just tell me this one."

**Minutes later...**

"I see," Riordan said, looking down at the kids who'd taken seats. "Make sure that door is closed. Mercenaries, Gwynn, and other common folk here, this is classified info. We've determined the holy artifact is within Hoarfrost somewhere, and it is the reason the Yetis have awakened. We must retrieve it at all costs. In the wrong hands..."  
"Okay," Bapple said, uninterested.  
"Mercs, completing this mission would give me pretty good motivation to write a letter of recommendation for each of you," Gwynn leaned in.  
"Getting into the Royal Army is harder than that, of course," Riordan blathered, "but it would be worthwhile to prove your skills."

The outpost door opened, and in walked a jaded looking man with an eye patch.

"I thought I told you to keep that door – you!" Riordan turned pale.  
"Me!" the man laughed. He looked around, and his grin suddenly widened. "Aodhan! Is that you?"

Aodhan stumbled with his words for a moment.

"Hello, Ingkells."  
"Don't forget Silberin," Ingkells said, making way for a dark-skinned man in glasses to appear from behind him.  
"Who's next?" Bapple rolled her eyes.

Aodhan cleared his throat.

"Mercenaries, this is Lord Ingkells of Ortel Castle."  
"_The_ Lord Ingkells?" Marrec practically choked. "You were one of my idols growing up!"

Ingkells reached over and patted Marrec's helmet roughly.

"Good to hear, kid! How've you been, Aodhan? Is this your new band of merry men?"

Riordan coughed loudly.

"What do you want? What are you doing here?"  
"Well, I heard something pompous and ugly walked into town, so I decided I'd come get my men back."  
"I like this guy," Bapple whispered to the others.  
"You can't have them back!" Riordan shouted, now visibly upset.

Ingkells seemed to not notice, or care, what Riordan was yelling at him.

"So tell me about your mercs, Aodhan," he continued. "I've heard plenty of stories about some crazy things happening in this little town."  
"Ingkells, I'd like to introduce you to Bapple, Dima, Maks, Nalus, and Dijkstra. They've gone to immeasurable lengths for us, and I hope they continue to do so."  
"Good to meet all of you," Ingkells said cheerfully. He leaned in toward Nalus, whispering in a not very quiet voice, "Any of you know what this joker Riordan is doing here, besides stinking up the place?"

Nalus giggled.

"No, sir. He just kinda showed up and started acting like this."  
"I figured as much." He turned to Riordan. "Have you said all you have to say yet?"  
"Gwynn, send me notification when these mercs have done something useful. They can then pick one to try for a cadet spot."

Bapple stood up immediately.

"Wait, _one_?"  
"Yes, one. It'd be enough of a pain to let one of you bottom feeders attempt to make a cadet ring, let alone all five of you. I'm assuming you'd be the candidate."  
"You can shove your cadet ring up your ass."

Riordan sputtered. Torrin nervously pretended to read a book on the shelf. Ingkells walked back over to Aodhan and whispered, "I like this girl."

"You want your holy artifact back? You can either go pry it out of the hands of a Kobold yourself or start treating us with respect. Do you even know how deep you'd be if any one of the five of us weren't here to save the day every day?"

Riordan's face went redder than it usually was. Bapple opened her mouth to say more, but Ingkells lifted a hand up, signaling her to stop.

"Riordan, they're obviously too good for the likes of _your_ army, and you should consider treating them as such if this holy thing is that important to you."

Riordan only turned around and exited the building.

"At least she didn't punch him," Maks broke the ensuing silence.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Field trip**

"She's a firecracker, that one," Ingkells sipped a glass of iced strawberry brandy.  
"That's one way to describe her," Aodhan leaned against the counter.  
"I take it you agreed completely with what she said."  
"Why's that?"  
"I swear I saw you grinning when the steam started coming out of that fool Riordan's ears."

The two old friends stood alone in the empty outpost, listening to the quiet of the night, wondering what would happen next.

**The next day at the outpost...**

Bapple woke up feeling strangely refreshed. She bathed, threw on her Sharpshooter outfit, and headed over to the outpost to see who else was awake.

"Hey, champ!" Ingkells greeted her as soon as her foot passed the threshold.  
"Hi," she smiled.

Bapple grabbed a mug and sat down at her usual table. Ingkells soon joined her.

"I was thinking," he started, "how would you and your friends like to visit Ortel castle today? You could obviously use a break from Colhen for a day or so."

All of yesterday swirled around in Bapple's head.

"Sure! Isn't it kinda far, though?"  
"Don't worry," he patted her on the back, "we'll be on my personal carriage."

**Later, on a dirt path far out from Colhen...**

The carriage was made of steel, with enough cushioning in the back for people to sit on fairly comfortably. Ingkells' men had also engineered some devices with springs near the wheels to make the trip a lot less bumpy. Dima, Maks, Nalus, and Dijkstra sat in the cart. Bapple sat between Ingkells and Silberin up front near the two huge, black horses.

"Have you ever held the reins before?" Ingkells asked.  
"I've never even been on one of these!" Bapple wore a giddy grin.

Ingkells handed the reins to Bapple. She looked up at him pathetically, hands frozen in fear, and he laughed.

"You're a natural," he smiled. After she'd started to relax, "So what do you plan on doing about the holy thing?"  
"I don't really know," Bapple admitted. "I guess it's kind of important."  
"Most likely. I probably shouldn't be distracting you and the others with a long outing like this."  
"It's okay. I think we deserve a day off, even if the fate of the world is at stake."

Bapple saw something black in the corner of her eye, but when she turned her head she only saw the beautiful patch of flowers they were passing.

**In some rocky hideout...**

A giant, horned Fomor sat in an equally giant throne, chin in hand. A small, black portal opened in front of him, and soon a hooded Kobold with an earpiece appeared in it.

"Patch me through to Ezroch," Shakarr said.  
"Gaaah!" it vanished.

…

"Gaaaaah!" a new, even uglier Kobold popped up inside the portal.  
"Whatever you and the rest of the ice monkeys are up to, how about you hold it off for a day?"

The portal vanished before the Kobold could answer.

"I'm a little stinker," Shakarr chuckled to himself.

**Ortel castle, midday...**

The horses' footsteps began to make a different noise as the dirt turned into cobblestone. The carriage entered the territory of an impressively large castle with beautiful courtyards.

"Welcome to my domain!" Ingkells said loudly, then laughed.

Bapple and company looked up and around in awe at the size of the place. It seemed to dwarf the castle in Rocheste. Ingkells leaped off the cart, assisted Bapple on her way down, and grabbed the rest one by one to place them gently on the ground.

"I bet you're all hungry," Ingkells said.

He then reached into his pocket, grabbed two apples, and fed them to the horses before unhooking them.

"You all could probably use some food, too," he turned to the group. "Come with me!"

**The dining hall...**

Everyone's mouth watered as the feast was brought to the long-stretching table.

"Vif if delifif!" Maks said happily, mouth full of chicken meat. Nalus rolled her eyes.  
"I don't know what to eat first!" Dima said.  
"I don't know what most of this is, but it smells wonderful," Dijkstra wrapped a napkin around his neck.  
"More wine!" Bapple raised a hand into the air.  
"Maybe a _little_ bit of manners?" Nalus said, ribbing her softly.  
"Haha! Save your etiquette for Rocheste!" Ingkells laughed heartily.

Bapple put her arm around Nalus and held up her recently filled glass, smiling.

**Later in a courtyard...**

Dima, Maks, and Dijkstra ran around on the grass, tossing a ball around to each other arbitrarily. Bapple and Nalus sat on a bench, watching and holding their stomachs in a mix of pain and satisfaction.

Silberin walked on the path, lost in thought, and the ball went sailing right into his back.

"Oops!" Maks looked panicked. "Sorry, Silberin!"

Silberin, now out of his trance, picked up the ball and looked at the three boys. He smiled, seemingly for the first time since the day before, and lobbed it back while joining them on the grass.

Ingkells came outside and joined Bapple and Nalus, standing next to the bench.

"I know you've got a lot to do right now, and you will have even more in the future, but I hope to have you all join me here again every once in a while. Maybe we can even pull Aodhan out of the mud."  
"Yes, that'd be nice," Nalus said.

Bapple idly nodded, looking up at a castle tower.

"Ingkells," she said, "what's up with that odd tower? It breaks the symmetry of the place."  
"Ah," he sighed, "I knew you'd notice eventually." He started to walk back inside. "Stay sharp."

Bapple and Nalus looked at each other.

"That was a bit out of character," Nalus said.  
"Something's up there."  
"Aaaand, just like me, he knows you've already got your mind set on going to find out what it is, so he's not gonna bother telling you not to."  
"Cover for me?"  
"Better than going with you, I guess."

Bapple quietly ran off to the opposite end of the yard and pushed open the door. Ingkells came back outside and sat next to Nalus.

"That was quick."

**Inside the castle...**

Bapple walked into a square room with huge, carved, patterned squares in the floor. Although the room gave her a bad feeling, nothing happened. She walked into the next room, which had a small moat in the center, and was greeted by three large, black dogs. They snarled at her, but she crouched down and offered her hand. After sniffing her, they decided she was acceptable and laid back down. She scratched one behind the ear for a moment before continuing to her left.

Behind the next door was a stairway with a few guards standing around.

"Ma'am," said a voice from behind one of the four helmets, "who are you?"  
"I'm Bapple, one of the five mercenaries Ing.. Lord Ingkells brought to visit from Colhen."  
"What is your business in this part of the castle?"  
"I'm exploring," she said without thinking at all.  
"Hm."

The guard nearest to her eyed her and whistled loudly. One of the dogs from the prior room came galloping in to his side. He pointed at Bapple, and the dog sat in front of her.

"Stay sharp," the guard warned.

"If you don't mind my asking, what exactly is going on in this tower?" Bapple pet the dog, waiting for an answer.  
"I've seen nothing for myself," he said, suddenly coldly.  
"Okay, what do you think is going on in this tower?"

The guard only stiffened his stance.

"Well," one farther up ahead started, "there's supposed to be a woman up there."  
"Oh?"  
"She's very dangerous," he said shakily.  
"How dangerous are we talking?"

This guard also stiffened. Bapple scoffed and continued, accompanied by the dog. She found a twisting staircase and began a long climb. The first door she came across would not open.

"One day they'll come up with something better than stairs," Bapple said. The dog only looked up at her, panting.

They reached a new floor and the door opened. Bapple was greeted by three masked women in black and white who cartwheeled toward her, yelling in ghostly voices. The dog began growling and rearing back.

Bapple held out her shield and, as soon as one made contact, lunged forward. She sent one of the women flying backward into the other two. They lay on top of each other, dazed. They were fairly delicate looking, so Bapple left them as they were and continued into the next hallway. After enough turns, she and the dog yelped and leaped backward as a swinging, spiked, flaming log almost hit them.

Bapple pulled a small bomb out of her skirt's pouch, lit the fuse, waited a few seconds, and tossed it at the log. It exploded right before contact, splitting the log in two and leaving the halves dangling.

"Be careful," she advised the dog. He slowly crawled on his belly between the hanging log fragments, and Bapple followed. "Phew," she said. The dog looked up at her and panted, waiting for a pat on the head.

The next door was metal. After pushing it open a bit, Bapple noticed tile flooring and no other doors on any wall. She scratched the dog under its chin and kept it from following, closing the door behind her. She heard a few scratches and then a plop.

Now taking in the scene around her, the room appeared very empty except for chests and barrels lining parts of the wall and a large, fancy bed at the opposite end. As Bapple walked closer to the center of the room, she noticed a black shape in the bed. Suddenly, a dark feeling loomed, almost weighing her down, as the figure moved around until being undoubtedly humanoid.

A girl, dressed in black leather, lifted her legs, covered in long, black boots, off the bed and onto the tile. She stood, stretching, and her long ponytail flew around carelessly as she adjusted her hat. Bapple heard a voice from within, startling her almost enough to make her jump.

_Young one_, said the paladin, _the body and soul wavelengths of this individual do not match. I suggest you lend me your consciousness._

Bapple immediately took the advice, giving over control of her body. Her expression became more focused, and the paladin spoke with her voice.

"Fomor, what game are you playing?"

The girl only giggled in a sultry voice, walking closer.

_Wait, do you mean someone's inside there?_ Bapple asked.  
_It is highly likely, or it was._

The girl was now next to Bapple's body, put a hand to her ear, and whispered something in the Fomorian tongue.

"Don't bother," said Bapple's voice. "I am beyond your temptation."

The girl's eyes widened, but she soon narrowed them and lowered her head. She held out a hand, and a large scythe materialized.

_Can we...?_ Bapple wondered.  
_It is foolish to try, but I will attempt to find a trace of her if you wish._

The silent conversation was postponed when the scythe's blade came swinging horizontally in front of Bapple's face. The paladin gripped Bapple's sword and held it at her side.

_Fwoosh! Fwoosh!_ The girl's scythe sliced through the air. She'd clearly decided to stop holding back. She came running and swung again. The paladin bent forward to avoid it and then body checked the girl right in the chest, knocking her back a bit. The paladin charged forward and swung from overhead at the scythe, knocking it out of her hands. After grabbing the girl by the shoulders, Bapple's eyes began to glow and she locked eyes with her.

For a moment, the girl blinked and looked innocent and scared. Then the determined look on her face returned, and she wrestled Bapple to the ground, straddling her. She pinned Bapple's arms down and stared her down at face level.

_My turn!_ Bapple asserted control of her body and swiftly brought her head upwards into the girl's forehead. The girl was caught off guard and now seeing stars; Bapple brought up her legs and flung the girl off. She jumped to her feet and ran over to hold the girl down, now having exchanged positions from before.

_Uh... I don't actually know what to do_, Bapple thought.  
_Channel the selflessness of the paladin essence that you contain. I trust your judgment from there._

Bapple began to concentrate, and her body glowed brightly. The armor of the paladin briefly appeared on her, but it flickered and vanished. The light enveloping her sunk beneath her skin and reappeared outside her body in front of her chest. Bapple opened her eyes and moved a hand toward herself; the ball of light gravitated toward it until she was cupping it.

_Here goes nothing_, she thought, only to herself.

Bapple firmly grasped the light, as firmly as one can grasp such a thing, and placed it at the girl's chest. She began to push it down into the leather that covered the girl's chest. The girl began to twitch uncontrollably and make agitated noises.

_Get off_, the paladin warned.

Bapple pushed herself up and stood before the quivering body. A black mist began to come out of the girl's mouth, and Bapple covered her ears as it made a terrible combination of a scream and a hiss. It began to take form, but it soon destabilized and exploded into nothing. The girl went limp, and Bapple almost tripped over herself running toward her.

**Minutes later, at ground level outside...**

Maks ran frantically from a golem, made out of giant, stone blocks, that was lumbering after him around the courtyard. The others were talking, sitting, or both. Everyone's head turned when the door on the opposite end of the field busted open and Bapple ran out, carrying a girl dressed in all black, followed closely by a dog barking loudly.

"Ingkells! We gotta get to Colhen right now!"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Recovery**

**(New and improved! If you've read ch25 prior to this, please go to the topic linked on my profile page for an explanation)**

Ingkells had sent Bapple on a coach piloted by Silberin to Colhen, telling her he and the rest would catch up later. Bapple sat in the back with the girl laying on her lap.

"So," Silberin kept looking forward at the horses, "I can't help but notice you've got the Succubus in your arms."  
"The what?"  
"Mm, nevermind."

They went in silence for the rest of the ride.

**Brynn's laboratory...**

Bapple kicked open the door and walked in, carrying the girl. Brynn kept his back to her, working on an experiment.

"What have you done now?" he said very dryly.  
"Well," she caught her breath, "I evicted the spirit of a Fomor from the body of the girl I'm carrying right now, long story short."

Brynn's arm froze in the middle of his pouring gesture, and then his shoulders slumped as he sighed. He finally turned around.  
"What in the name of the Goddess are you ta –" he began, but his jaw dropped when he saw the Succubus. After a pause, "Who in the world...?"  
"Ingkells took us on a trip to his castle in Ortel. Silberin called her a sucker punch or something like that."  
"Succubus," Brynn said. "a bewitching she-devil who lures men into a very exciting death. I see now that the rumors of Ortel castle were true. You say a Fomor possessed her?"  
"That's what the paladin thinks. I did some crazy stuff with the light inside me and expelled it from her as far as I can tell."  
"Interesting."  
"I'll be interested after she wakes up! Can you help?"  
"Hm."

**Bapple's room at the inn...**

Bapple laid the girl down on her bed and sat beside her. After Bapple had counted most of the spots on her ceiling, her guest began to stir. Bapple grabbed a beaker full of a concoction Brynn had given her and held the mouth of it at the girl's nose. Brynn had warned her that the girl would likely panic upon waking up, having not been in control of her own body for what had probably been more than a few years. The mixture produced a calming smell that was meant to keep the heart rate down during stressful experiences.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Bapple placed the beaker on the nightstand beside the bed and gently grabbed the girl's hand.

"Hi," she said as sweetly as she could. "

The girl's eyes went wide as she realized her surroundings.

"Please don't be afraid," Bapple said. "I want to help."

The girl's eyes scanned the room around her and then locked on Bapple again.

"My name is Bapple. You're in a town called Colhen right now. I brought you here from Ortel Castle."

The girl sat up straight and touched her own face, pulling down the mask covering her mouth. Bapple placed a hand on her back.

"You might have a hard time talking right now. It's probably been a while."

She opened her mouth but trembled, apparently scared to try.

"Lie back down," Bapple suggested, "I'll leave the room and let you clear your head."

**Outside the inn, one hour later...**

The rest of the group had arrived without Ingkells. Bapple sat on the bench by the mailbox, softly petting a chick that had found its way to her palm while the mother hen sat on her boot.

"So where's the bride?" Dima wasted no time being obnoxious.  
"She's resting in my room. Brynn helped me wake her up safely and I got in a few words before I left her alone."  
"You sure it's okay to just leave her in there? What if she goes all psycho?" Maks very quickly felt Nalus' hand on the back of his head.  
"Can't be sure of anything in this world," Bapple shot him a glare.  
"Should we go introduce ourselves?" Maks asked.  
"No," Dijkstra spoke up, finally alerting everyone of his presence, "It would be best to not overload her. Her mind is fragile right now. Bapple, you should check on her."

Bapple gently placed the chick on the ground and watched it waddle off toward the general store with its clucking mother frantically catching up to it.

**Bapple's room...**

Bapple slowly pushed open the door and walked inside. The succubus was still on her bed, apparently asleep with the back of her hand lying on her forehead. Bapple tiptoed to her chair and sat down. Moments later, the girl opened her eyes and turned her head toward Bapple.

"H-hi..." she managed.  
"Hey," Bapple smiled warmly.

The girl opened her mouth again, but only a faint squeak came out. Bapple put a finger to her own lips and stood up, closing the curtains to darken the room.

"Don't strain yourself. Get some more sleep if you need it. I'll be at my desk if you need me."

The girl shuffled uncomfortably for a moment before moving her hand off her face to make a slow fanning gesture.

"Oh!" Bapple jumped up. "I didn't even realize you're probably hot as hell in that outfit. I'll help you if you need me to."

She lifted her head off the pillow by a few inches and then it plopped back down. She coughed and slumped her body, discouraged.

Bapple smiled and held out her hand. The girl slowly reached for and grabbed it. Bapple put her other hand behind the girl's back and gently pulled up on both until she had the girl upright.

"Wow, this is a bit fancier than anything I've worn. I hope I can figure it out."

**Later in the night...**

After some struggling on both ends, Bapple had helped the girl get down to her skivvies and sat at the desk, finishing an overdue battle report by candlelight. She heard some movements and turned around; the girl was now sitting upright and looking down at her hands.

"Hey again, sleepyhead," Bapple said.  
"Hi," the girl replied so assertively that she startled herself with her own voice.  
"How do you feel?"  
"I'm... better."  
"Good!" Bapple got up and walked over to sit on the side of the bed. She slowly reached over and put her hand on the girl's forehead. "You've cooled off, too."  
"Thank you," her eyes remained fixed on her hands.  
"For what? Oh, right. Don't mention it. What's your name? I'm Bapple. Er, I think I told you that already."  
"Yes, I remember. I'm Eve, or at least I was."  
"I bet you've got quite a story."

No response.

"Whenever you're ready, that is. I'm sure it's not a fun one. Hey, I gotta go give my friends an update."

Eve nodded.

"If you get hungry and you can walk, go ahead downstairs and tell Tieve. She's sweeter than sweet, so don't worry. There's a robe over there you can borrow 'cause you're kinda half-naked and I never really figured out which side Tieve is on."

Bapple saw a smile form on Eve's face for a moment. She placed one of her own hands on top of Eve's and stood up to go downstairs.

**Outside...**

"Wow, you guys really have nothing better to do," Bapple found all four of her friends loitering around the outside of the inn.  
"How is she?" Nalus immediately asked.  
"Much better. I even got her talking a bit before I left."  
"When do we get to meet her?" Dima asked.  
"Give it some time. She is probably traumatized beyond what we can imagine," Dijkstra said plainly.  
"Definitely," Bapple said. "She's made a great recovery so far, but let's give her space."

**Simultaneously, in Bapple's room...**

Eve sat upright still, leaning against the bedboard. The window was just barely cracked, and the conversation one story below was clear enough to hear. Tonight, Eve once again felt a cozy warmth in her heart.

**Back outside...**

A horse neighed at the gate to the path to Rocheste. Ingkells pushed open the carriage door before the driver could get to it. He walked, with his usual, powerful stride, toward the inn, followed closely by a black hound.

"Hey gang," he smiled. "I apologize for my tardiness. I don't recommend Lordship. Too many people you've got to tell, 'I'll sign it later. I gotta go!' Haha. How is the situation?"  
"Everything's good so far. She's alive and coherent."  
"Great! Wish I could say the same for my men! Haha!"  
"Bark! Bark!" the dog wagged its stub.  
"Ah, yes, I'd almost forgotten," Ingkells reached down to place his gruff palm on the dog's head affectionately. "You were all hyped up on adrenaline and forgot your buddy at my castle, Bapple."  
"Oh!" she looked down at the dog.  
"This boy here's getting up there in the years. I'm thinking he could use a retirement in a cozy little town, if you're interested. I can tell you two bonded really well."  
"Wow, um... okay! I mean yes, please! Thank you, Ingkells," Bapple squatted down and the dog ran over to lick her face incessantly, causing many giggles.

The good vibes spread across the group, and the separate, idle conversations began.

**Later...**

The moon was high in the sky. Ingkells stretched.

"Well -" he started, but a creaking sound interrupted him.

The inn's front door slowly opened, and from behind it peeked Eve. She crept out, now covering herself with Bapple's lilac-colored robe. She immediately blushed after realizing there were more people than expected. Bapple jumped up to her feet and silently helped her out the door.

"Hi," she said weakly. Everyone turned to her. "I'm Eve."  
"Hi," a few voices murmured back.

Ingkells walked over to her, kneeled down, and reached out for her hand. She placed hers in his, and he looked up at her, giving it a kiss.

"I apologize on behalf of all of Ortel Castle, Miss Eve. I cannot forgive myself for not being proactive about your predicament."  
"Please don't apologize," Eve's face was as red as possible. "I don't want you to feel bad. I think it was meant to be Bapple," she rested her head against Bapple's shoulder.  
"Fair enough," he returned her hand to her, stood up, and bowed. "I'm going to be on my way soon. I'm glad I got to see this lovely lady feeling better before going back."

Minutes later, everyone excluding Eve stood at Ingkells' carriage.

"Bapple, that dog likes his steaks rare! Haha! A pleasure as usual."  
"Likewise, sir. I hope we can visit you again once the Royal Army is done giving us monster-sized errands."  
"Nalus, you're welcome to any of the books in the castle's library. Seriously. I can't get enough quiet time to read! Haha. Dijkstra, that paper I gave you should have all the contact info you'll need. Tell him Ingkells sent ya, but be prepared for him to talk your ears off."

Ingkells reached behind Maks' ear and made a large, silver coin appear in his own palm.

"This is from the year of that revolution I told you about. Take good care of it!"

He followed Silberin into the carriage and looked out the window at the group, pointing at Dima and motioning for him to come closer. After a silent exchange of words, the horses started lumbering forward.

"Farewell!" Ingkells shouted. His hand stuck out the window, waving.

**Even later, inside the inn...**

Eve sat next to Tieve at a table downstairs, sipping on hot tea. Bapple came down the stairs, much less pepper in her step at this hour, and passed by the table. She dropped a small sack in front of Tieve which jingled upon impact.

"Here's your rent for a year, Eve. There's a room next to mine. I'm going outside for a few."

The door closed behind her. Eve looked at Tieve for help.

"She has a way with words," Tieve smiled.

**Outside...**

Dima sat on the bench with the dog lying at his feet. The dog immediately got up and walked over to Bapple as she came outside.

"What a day," he said.  
"You're telling _me_," she sighed.  
"So what're you gonna name him?"  
"Huh? Oh, the dog. I haven't really given it any thought. How about Ink?"  
"Ink?"  
"You know, he's black like ink, and it reminds me of Ingkells' name."  
"Ink it is."

Bapple took a deep breath of the cool, night air through her nose as a comfy breeze whispered in their ears.

"So whaddya think of Eve?" she asked.  
"Honestly, I haven't given her much thought."  
"What else in the world could you have thought about today?"  
"You."

Bapple turned to him.

"What about me?"  
"When we kissed."  
"We haven't ki- mmm."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: Preparation**

**(New and improved! If you've read ch26 prior to this, please go to the topic linked on my profile page for an explanation)**

**Brynn's lab...**

_Knock, knock._

"Erm, come in," Brynn looked up from his work at the door.

Eve walked in and looked around, amazed. She had borrowed an old shirt and pants from Bapple for the day. Brynn cleared his throat.

"Oh. Hi, my name is Eve."  
"Hello. I'm Brynn. Thank you for knocking. Courtesy is a novelty these days. I presume you are the former succubus."  
"Not really, but yes," she blushed.  
"Hm? Oh. Apologies."  
"It's fine. Anyway, Bapple told me you were the first person she went to when she arrived in town with me. I wanted to thank you face-to-face for helping."  
"Oh, well, um," Brynn stuttered. "It was nothing. It's good that you're alright."  
"I feel indebted," she looked at the floor.

Brynn put his beaker down.

"Please don't. Bapple deserves ninety-nine percent of the credit for being sufficiently out of her mind to go find and retrieve you. However, if you'd like to help me, you can answer some questions about your experiences, whenever you're ready that is. As a scientist and magician, I am intrigued. I'd like to test some theories against your story."  
"Of course," she smiled.

**Meanwhile at the outpost...**

Riordan rambled on about the mission at hand. Maks reclined in his chair which wasn't meant for reclining, so far back that he lost balance. Nalus caught said chair with one hand and firmly shoved it back on all fours, narrowing her eyes until Maks sat up straight. Bapple stared at the clouds through the window, chin in her hand. Dima stared at Bapple from another table, chin in his hand. Dijkstra, the only one actively paying attention, stood against the wall and silently reviewed each of Riordan's words as they were spoken.

"... and that's why it's imperative that you find the holy artifact. Understood?"

The room was silent. Riordan rubbed against a spot on his head to soothe incoming pain.

"Stupid mercenaries," he muttered to himself.  
"Sir," Gwynn spoke up, "perhaps I should take the burden of briefing them."  
"Right you are, Gwynn. I'll be waiting in the carriage."

Riordan walked outside. Moments later,

"Ow! Damn it! What is this black beast from hell?"  
"Bark! Bark!"

Gwynn cleared her throat.

"Mercenaries," she started.

Suddenly, the daydreams came to a simultaneous halt and everyone turned toward her attentively.

"I trust you're all at least vaguely aware of the importance of this mission."  
"At least," Nalus smiled.  
"Good. I'll see you all at 0700 tomorrow. Remember, you're expected to be on the way to Hoarfrost at no later than 0800.

**Later, outside the forge...**

Shayla brought out a glass of water and sat it on a ledge near Bapple who was sharpening her sword on a large stone.

"I hear you were the one carrying someone in, for once," Shayla crossed her arms, grinning.  
"Yep," Bapple didn't look up from her work. "Her name is Eve. If you see her around, try not to be too intense."  
"Me? Intense? I'm offended!" she laughed.

**Back at the magic laboratory...**

"I'd practiced magic before all of this happened."  
"Interesting," Brynn carefully plucked a hair of his and dropped it into his green concoction. "Perhaps that is why the Fomor used you... utilized your body so well."

Nyle, covered almost completely in his black cloak as usual, strode in from a back room.

"You've been chatting up this mercenary for nearly ten minutes now, Brynn. You must be sick or something."  
"She's no mercenary, Nyle, which is probably why."  
"Hmph. Whatever." Nyle returned to the back.

_Creeeeak_.

Sunlight filled the room as Nalus walked inside. In her hand was an orange, glowing essence.

"Here's that wisp heart you asked for, Brynn. Hi Eve!"  
"Lovely. Put it on that shelf, please. I'll work out your payment when I get a chance."  
"Take your time! Hey, Eve, I'm having lunch with Bapple in a few. You're welcome to join!"  
"Thank you..." Eve made eye contact for a brief moment.  
"Toodles!" Nalus waved and went out as quickly as she'd arrived.

Eve turned back to Brynn.

"Well don't let me keep you from lunch," Brynn said. "You should go be with your friends."  
"I don't think they see me as a friend yet," Eve said quietly. "I was kinda forced into their lives."  
"Trust me," Brynn sniffed the flask and silently gagged, "you'll be fine."  
"Bapple's the only one I've really talked to at all. She's nice to me, but the rest are strangers."

Brynn sighed audibly.

"Her choices for friends tend to be annoying and loud, but they certainly could be worse."

Eve smiled, knowing Brynn would short-circuit if he came any closer to complimenting them.

"I guess I'll head over, then. I'll tell you more when I get a chance."  
"See you."

Eve turned to the door and had almost touched the knob...

"Hold on."

She turned around to face Brynn and cocked her head. Brynn bent over behind his desk and rustled through whatever was back there, coming back up for air soon enough.

"Take this," he raised his arm to show he had a simple-looking staff in his hand. "Everything that girl touches turns into a mercenary. I wouldn't have you using second rate equipment."

Eve walked over and cautiously grabbed it.

"Um, thank you. This looks very nice."  
"Yes, yes. I'll see you later."

**Inside the inn...**

Eve walked through the front doorway and looked around. No one was in the room, but a delicious smell filled the air. Tieve poked her head out from behind a wall.

"Nalus told me you'd be joining them for lunch. I'll have some soup ready for you all in a few minutes!"

Without giving Eve a chance to reply, Tieve disappeared again. Eve blinked and hurried up the stairs to put away the staff and wash up.

Eve came back down the stairs to find Bapple and Nalus sitting by the table expectantly.

"I could eat a steak the size of the giant polar bear right now," Bapple complained. Once she noticed Eve, her face lit up. "Hey! Come on down!"

Eve sat opposite Bapple and Nalus, switching back and forth from glancing at them to looking at her feet.

"How'd you like Brynn?" Bapple asked. "I know he's not much of a teddy bear, but he's more fun to talk to than Deputy Commander Riordan at least."  
"Who's that?" Eve looked up.  
"Bapple's best friend," Nalus answered matter-of-factly.

A few seconds of silence passed before Bapple and Nalus let out a huge snicker together. Eve couldn't help but giggle.

"Is he the man you were all with last night?"  
"Nope, that's Ingkells. He actually _is_ my best friend," Bapple said. After a pause, she quickly added, "One of them, I mean," and softly shouldered Nalus.  
"Yeah, Ingkells was visiting from Ortel Castle which is... well, I guess you know what that is," Nalus added.  
"Oh, yes. I think I knew that. Oops."  
"Riordan," Bapple reclined, "is much less fun to be around. What's even worse is he's in a position of power. Imagine Brynn with ten times the grumpiness and add the fact that this guy actually believes he's more of a person than any of us is."

Eve looked genuinely puzzled.

"Are you in his army?"  
"Nope. We're mercenaries. Riordan's in the Royal Army over in Rocheste," Bapple pointed arbitrarily. "If you're gonna ask why he's here dealing with us, your guess is as good as mine."  
"My guess," Nalus said, "is the Royal Army's not insane enough for the job."  
"Or they're not good enough," Bapple added, puffing out her chest and beating on it.

Eve giggled again. She felt oddly comfortable. Tieve walked over with three steaming hot bowls on a tray.

"The Royal Army isn't all bad," she said, smiling. "Keaghan is there, after all. He keeps Riordan in line whenever he's around."  
"This girl," Bapple pointed a thumb sideways at Tieve, "has the hots for Keaghan."  
"Understandably," Nalus said. "I saw a picture once. He's gorgeous." She winked at Tieve.

Tieve blushed as she passed out the bowls. Eve and Nalus both bowed their heads before picking up their spoons; Bapple had already grabbed the bowl and started many bowl-to-mouth transfers of soup.

**Later, just outside the outpost...**

Bapple dragged Eve, who was kicking up a bit of dust by resisting, by the wrist.

"I think I'm too nervous!"  
"This was your idea!"  
"Well I'm having second thoughts!"  
"C'mon, it'll be fine. We'll go sit down by our friends and they'll like you and we'll live happily ever after."

Before Eve could protest any more, the door swung open.

"After you," Bapple said. "They'll be on the left. Just go on and sit down like it's natural."

Eve sighed, realizing she wouldn't escape Bapple's vice grip any other way. She walked onto the wooden floor of the outpost and spotted some faintly familiar faces from the night before at a table on the left. She went directly to the table, not looking at anything else, and sat down immediately. Bapple casually followed, waving to the rest of the Crimson Blades.

"Hi Eve," Dima said. "I'm Dima."  
"Hi Dima," she answered, "Oh, you're the one Bapple – ow!"  
"Sorry," Bapple looked down at her, "gotta watch where I'm going."  
"I'm Maks. Nice to meet you!"  
"Likewise," Eve smiled.  
"The life of the party over there is Dijkstra," Bapple pointed. Dijkstra nodded and bowed to Eve. "That guy's got stories for days once you get some strawberry brandy in him."

Bapple put her face next to Eve's and pointed across the room.

"That man is Captain Aodhan. He's the leader of the Crimson Blades. Everyone else in the room is a Blade, even the people running this place."

Toward the end of Bapple's spiel, Aodhan walked over to the table.

"Hey there," he said. "Every time I turn my head, Bapple adds someone else to her team."  
"This one's innocent," Bapple put a hand on Eve's shoulder, "I'm just showing her around."  
"Alrighty," he smiled. "Just don't let Gallagher hear about an 'innocent' new girl."  
"I can cut off his ears if you think that'd help."

**That night...**

Eve sat at the edge of Bapple's bed. She was dressed in a new nightgown, bought from Clodagh at the general store by Bapple as a gift. Bapple had on a long, oversized shirt.

"Thank you again," Eve ran her finger up and down the material. "This is really comfy."  
"Don't mention it. I don't imagine you've got much of a wardrobe at the moment."  
"I just don't feel like I can ever repay you for all of this."  
"Well, if you feel that way," Bapple winced as she slid her brush's bristles through knots in her hair in front of a mirror, "don't repay me!"

Bapple noticed a distinct silence and continued.

"I treat you like a friend cause you're a friend, not cause I want anything back for it."  
"Well, when you put it that way," Eve's voice sounded noticeably more at ease.  
"So how'd you like the gang?"  
"They were really nice. I feel like I made a good impression."  
"You bet you did. You almost looked like you belonged there. Sheesh!"

Eve was starting to recognize Bapple's flavorless humor and caught herself laughing loud enough to be heard.

"That joke you told about the blonde guy and the vampire sealed the deal."  
"You really think so?"  
"Oh yeah. I'm telling that one to Shayla." Bapple looked at the moon outside. "Ah, it's getting late. I gotta get some beauty sleep so I can kick some ass tomorrow."

Eve stood up.

"Do you like being a mercenary?"

Bapple stood still in thought.

"It's exciting," she finally said.  
"I see."  
"It's not really something you like or dislike. Sure, I hate parts of it, but if I just gave up and minded my own business then humans would be one step closer to being wiped out."

Bapple walked over and stood next to her.

"Each of us has a different reason for ending up in this town and fighting the Fomors. Whether someone's got a personal vendetta, is out to prove something, or is just bloodthirsty, the people in my group all have one basic thing in common."

Eve looked at her.

"They're crazy?"

They laughed together and wished each other a good night. Eve walked to her room and closed the door behind her before seeing a fairly large book on her bed. Next to it was a small piece of white paper that had "Eve" scribbled on it in awful handwriting. On the other side, it read "A refresher."


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: Complicated**

"That is," Nalus panted, planting the base of her scythe into the icy ground, "possibly the craziest," more panting, "idea you'll ever come up with in your entire life."  
"Thanks," Bapple wiped some blood from her cheek, grinning. She stood up straight, facing the rest, and loosened her grip on her sword and shield until they fell to the ground. "Whether you all go with this or not, it's been a pleasure."

The weapons of the other five people present all thumped against the ground.

**That morning...**

Bapple awoke to something cold on her cheek, opening her eyes to see Ink looming over her with his tail wagging. As soon as she smiled, he licked her face and the giggles only encouraged more of it.

"Today's the big day," she told him, patting his head.

Bapple donned her usual adventure outfit, wondering how long it'd be until the leather wouldn't cut it anymore. After arming herself, she trotted down the stairs and headed outside to the outpost. Riordan sat at a table, slumping, as she walked through the entrance.

"Aherm!" he immediately started to push his chair back to stand.  
"Don't bother with the formalities; it's too early," she poured two glasses of iced strawberry brandy and walked to the table, placing one in front of him.  
"Erm, yes. I was just waiting for you and your comrades to quit wasting time and show up for the official briefing," he eyed her carefully and sipped.

Bapple paid him no mind and took a swig. One by one, her friends walked through the door and sat down at nearby tables, waiting for the instructions. Once Dima, Maks, Nalus, and Dijkstra were all situated, Riordan stood up and finished his drink in one gulp.

"Mercenaries, I don't think I need to stress how important this mission is. Not only will it be vital to humanity, it will look good to the Royal Army in your future. From what we've gathered, we can tell the Kobold leader named Ezroch is the one in possession of the holy artifact. He is at least twice the size of a human and extremely dangerous."  
"So he's just like everything else we've killed. Got it," Maks said. The rest chuckled.  
"If your skills match your arrogance, I expect the lot of you to come back with the prize before sundown," Riordan remained composed.

**At the docks...**

The group stood in a loose circle around the campfire just outside of the town.

"Alright, so the Kobold we're going after is named Ezroch and he's tough," Bapple said, looking down at a crude map of Hoarfrost.  
"The Royal Army is a wealth of information, as always," Dijkstra said dryly.  
"Hi there!" a voice not from the group said.

Bapple looked up and instinctively grabbed her sword handle, then slackened her grip after a moment.

"Oh, hi Eve. You look like you're straight from one of my nightmares."

Eve was standing there cheerfully, dressed in an outfit not unlike the animated skeletons that had inhabited the burning version of Ainle.

"Sorry if I startled you!" she pulled down her hood and looked over at a skull fastened to her shoulder area. "Nalus gave some material to that cute Clodagh girl in the general store and got this outfit out of it."  
"Well at least this outfit won't have any bad memories attached to it, right?"  
"Right! I'm hoping to make some new ones!"  
"What do you mean?"  
"While I was last talking to Brynn, I told him about how I used to practice magic before my life took a turn. He gave me this staff because he was sure I'd end up on that boat with you guys sooner or later."  
"He was, huh?" Bapple laughed. "So you know how to use that thing?"  
"Yep. I've actually been practicing all morning and some of last night, just to make sure I remember how. I might be a liability in your eyes, but -"  
"Whoa, whoa. I've seen you fight firsthand. Even if it wasn't really you, it's nothing you weren't capable of. The question is whether or not you're really up for this, especially so soon."  
"I'm on my feet, and I feel okay around all of you. Everyone's got a reason, and mine's payback for the Hell I've been through."

Bapple grinned and gave her a thumb up as she turned to face the others.

"Any objections?"  
"You're the boss," Dima added to the thumb count.  
"The more the merrier!" Maks copied Dima's gesture and posture.  
"One more person to patch you up after you get that fire in your eyes," Nalus put up two thumbs.  
"I trust your judgment, my _shorm_," Dijkstra's arms remained crossed.

Bapple got up, walked over and placed a hand on Eve's shoulder.

"Let's get on the boat, yeah?"

**At sea...**

Bapple stood at the front of the wooden vessel, as usual, eying the horizon in front of them. She turned to face Nalus who was walking toward her.

"I can't help but notice you're oddly cheerful today," Nalus said.

Bapple shrugged, but made the mistake of glancing at Dima while doing so. Nalus squealed and the rest of the passengers stared for a moment.

"He kissed you!" she said in a hushed voice.  
"No, he didn't – wait, how did you know?"  
"Ah, you have so much to learn about being a girl."  
"I'm plenty girly!"  
"Shh!" Nalus twirled her finger around and stood next to Bapple. Bapple turned to face the sea with her. "So how was it?"  
"It was nice," Bapple's expression slowly expanded into a wide grin.  
"Sooo are you two..."  
"Nah, we kinda agreed to keep it under control for now. Of course I wouldn't complain if it were to happen again," she looked at Nalus and they both started giggling.

Dijkstra sat upright against some luggage, napping briefly. Dima and Maks crouched down at one of the ship's sides, looking in wonder at Eve's handheld fire tricks. Bapple and Nalus remained at the bow, clutching dearly to a normal part of their lives.

**The depths of Hoarfrost...**

Maks lifted one of his swords and kicked off a Kobold that had been impaled by it.

Dima began to walk to the next icy corridor.

"Let's get going!"

With no provocation, Nalus stood up and shouted at Dima.

"Get on the ground!"

Without hesitating, Dima dropped on his stomach at once. Moments afterward, a line of fire flew across the space his torso had once occupied.

"Battle-ready!" Bapple yelled, gripping her sword and shield tightly. She, Nalus, Eve, and Maks charged toward Dima's location; Dijkstra loaded an arrow and prepared to let it loose at an instant.

A familiar, floating ball of dark energy appeared next to Dima, and from it came a Kobold dressed in a robe and wielding a flaming staff. Bapple raised her hand, sticking an index finger into the air, and immediately an arrow flew across the room into the Kobold's head. It pulled the arrow out, letting out the ultra-annoying yelp typical of Kobolds, and back-flipped away from the group.

Dima, now back on his feet, paired with Maks; both ran up on opposite sides of the Kobold, gave it a quick jab, and then subsequently made a lightning-quick strike backwards, leaving a burning "X" in the ground. During the single second the Kobold was thrown off by the attack, Eve opened her eyes from her concentration and pointed her new staff at the foe, shooting out a stream of ice and temporarily turning the Kobold into a popsicle.

"Stand back!" Dijkstra shouted, more assertively than usual. The rest did so, and he let go of the string. Half a dozen arrows flew over, hitting half a dozen individual spots on the Kobold's body.

Nalus turned to Bapple.

"Double whammy?"  
"You're on!"

The Kobold recovered more quickly than they'd expected. Bapple and Nalus were running toward it when its staff glowed, melting the ice, until it was able to shoot out a fireball, but they sidestepped it effortlessly. Bapple sprinted in and stuck her sword into the Kobold's stomach, twisting the handle. Its agonized screaming gave Nalus time to do an overhead swing and put a new gash into the its body. Both girls balanced on one leg, sending the other at the Kobold's head, ending with a disgusting _squish_.

Nalus grinned, and then her eyes widened as she gripped her shin.

"Ow ow ow. No more double whammies 'til I have legs made of stone like yours."  
"Sharp shootin'," Bapple gave Dijkstra a thumb up as he walked over.  
"I can't believe that was Ezroch!" Maks said, proud of his performance.  
"That's cause it wasn't, smarty-pants. Remember the 'twice as big as a human' thing? It was almost as short as you!" Nalus teased.  
"Let's keep our guard up," Bapple hid a smile as she piled some pieces of wood together. "Can I get a light?"

Eve walked over and crouched next to Bapple. She snapped her fingers and turned over her palm, holding a small flame. She looked at Bapple and smiled warmly as she touched the wood, setting it ablaze.

"Everyone take five. That was just a warm up. Thankfully we were efficient," Bapple warmed her hands and then got up to do some stretching. Nalus walked over and grabbed her arms, correcting her form.

"You're gonna cramp up when we need you if you keep up that reckless stretching."  
"Yeah, yeah. How'd you know that thing was coming, anyway?"  
"The air pressure in the area changed very slightly. It happens whenever a Fomor teleports nearby."  
"Huh, I never noticed anything."  
"It's too subtle to be felt by someone not inclined in magic."

Maks plopped down next to Eve by the fire.

"So how d'ya like fighting with us so far? You were pretty awesome with that ice thing back there!"  
"I do what I can," Eve blushed, "I'm only glad it worked correctly. Goddess knows how long it's been since I performed anything like that."  
"It's like riding a... well, you never forget," Nalus turned her head back while pressing her finger against a particular point on Bapple's back.

Eve looked around at her peers and fixed her gaze on Dijkstra, who was knelt down looking at the ground, eyes closed.

"Is he okay?" she asked softly.  
"He always catnaps right after a fight, even if it's only for a few minutes," Dima crossed his arms, "I'll never understand how he stays so relaxed."

**After the campfire intermission...**

The group walked into a large, dead-end room. The violated carcass of Rockjaw sat in a corner.

"Get ready," Nalus said plainly.  
"What, did the air change again?" Bapple asked.  
"No. There are footsteps, and none of us is walking."  
"Fair enough. Ready."

A chorus of "ready" followed as they all looked around cautiously. Suddenly, the ground shook twice and a tall, lanky Kobold holding two axes busted through the icy ceiling and yelled at them.

"Dijkstra, we need your chain trick. Put one in the ground and the other in the meatiest part of him you can aim at," Bapple began.  
"Got it."  
"Eve, do the freeze again. Nalus, I'll distract him. Dima and Maks..."

Bapple noticed both boys running forward, with their entire arms glowing red, in all the glory they thought they had. Both Dima and Maks sprinted toward Ezroch, preparing to slice him up. Dima jammed the handles of his spears together and lowered himself, starting to turn as he got closer. Maks angled his swords like fins and spun in a similar fashion.

Instead of the usual, satisfying noise of a blade tearing through Fomor skin, there were two loud _CLANK_s; Ezroch had stepped back and blocked both legs with the axes. The two boys immediately rolled out of his swinging radius without questioning it. Dijkstra's turn was next.

Dijkstra fired an arrow into the ice next to Ezroch. The arrow was tied to a chain, the other end of which was attached to the arrow he began loading without delay. He took quick aim at Ezroch's chest and released; Ezroch looked up and let go of one of his axes, using one of his large hands to knock the arrow out of the air. Dijkstra, for once, looked visibly surprised.

Eve crept out from behind a pillar of ice and pointed her staff at the foe, once again releasing a blast of ice into the air. Without even looking, Ezroch leaped into the air, and the ice fell to the ground in shards with no contact made.

Bapple signaled for Nalus to come along and started running toward Ezroch. She held her sword behind her and came at him with a powerful upswing, only to be parried by one of his axes. He grabbed the other from the ground and swung mightily at her; she barely protected herself from the blow by raising her shield, and the axe grazed her face. Nalus came in behind Bapple and vanished into the air. Ezroch lifted one leg, put some power into it, and donkey kicked behind him at the precise moment in which Nalus reappeared. She got knocked several yards backward and lied on the ground coughing.

Dima and Maks ran to Bapple's side, and they prepared for Ezroch's next strike.

"You two get Nalus. We're retreating," Bapple spat out.  
"But -"  
"Just go, and take this."

Bapple shoved a Light of Palala into Dima's hand. She turned around and signaled for the remaining members of the group to run back to the entrance.

"Go!" Dima shouted.

He and Maks ran for Nalus as he tossed the little ball behind them. Their ears began to ring, signaling the explosion. Nalus, now on her feet, weakly raised her scythe into the air and moved her lips, apparently muttering something. Dima and Maks both became revitalized, seeing a blue glow around their bodies. With this new strength, they ran even more quickly. Nalus hopped onto Maks' back and they made a line for the entrance.

**In the previous room...**

"Well that was nothing short of a disaster," Nalus said, panting, as Eve tended to her. "I sure hope he doesn't come through that hallway."

Bapple said nothing, pacing back and forth.

"How'd he perfectly counter everything we did?" Maks asked to the air.  
"That was a test," Bapple momentarily stopped pacing to point at the dead Kobold. "Ezroch was apparently watching the show and taking notes."  
"He only saw us do one or two things each. We know all sorts of moves," Nalus protested.  
"He's got us figured out. I could see the confidence," Bapple said, staring at the ground.

There was a collective sigh as everyone present began to lose hope. Finally, Bapple looked up with a delighted facial expression.

"He knows what we're doing because we know what we're doing. What if we didn't know what we were doing?"

Five confused looks greeted her.

"Hear me out. We're comfortable with our styles, and he's been watching that the whole time. Even though he was smart enough to come up with this plan, I can assure you it's all he's got going for him. What if we exchange weapons and try again?"  
"You mean we go into battle completely unprepared?" Maks raised an eyebrow.  
"Well, I wouldn't put it that negatively, but yes. That's about it."  
"That is," Nalus panted, planting the base of her scythe into the icy ground, "possibly the craziest," more panting, "idea you'll ever come up with in your entire life."  
"Thanks," Bapple wiped some blood from her cheek, grinning. She stood up straight, facing the rest, and loosened her grip on her sword and shield until they fell to the ground. "Whether you all go with this or not, it's been a pleasure."

The weapons of the other five people present all thumped against the ground.

**In the battle room...**

The entire group walked back inside with as much of a confident vibe as they could muster. Bapple and Dima ran toward Ezroch first, who had seemingly been standing there the entire time. Bapple held both arms out, her wingspan more than doubled with Dima's spears in her hands, and began twirling like a lunatic.

"Thiiiis iiiis muuuuch haaaarderrrr thaaan iiiit looooks," she said, becoming more nauseous by the second. Ezroch looked down at her, easily dodging the blades by taking a large step to the side, and his gaze remained fixed on her.

Dima tried his best to keep a straight face as he swung Bapple's sword from the side and surprised himself by connecting; the blade went into Ezroch's leg, resulting in a scream. Ezroch's hand swooped down, carrying an axe, toward Dima. He clumsily held up the shield, blocking the blow and getting knocked back onto his rear.

"Go!" Maks shouted.

Ezroch looked over at the next batch of fighters. Maks put the arrow on the string and let loose, giving little time to himself to aim. Ezroch swiped at the air, expecting to catch the arrow mid-flight, but it went much lower than expected and ended up in his stomach. He howled, pulling it out, as Dijkstra ran forward with Maks' two swords. He got close and performed two swipes at Ezroch's legs, then lunged forward with the blades crossed into Ezroch's body before retreating.

"Nice one," Maks said as Dijkstra returned.  
"Thank you. I am impressed as well; you were able to hit the mark from that distance."  
"Yeah! When I was little –"  
"Can we gush later?" Nalus rolled her eyes. "We have an insane plan to carry out."

She and Eve walked past the other two.

"Ready?" Eve looked at Nalus.  
"If you are. You sure you're not gonna have any horrible flashbacks while holding a scythe?"  
"Can't be sure of anything in this world," she winked.

Nalus closed her eyes and focused, holding her spare hand over the edge of the staff. Eve gripped the scythe with both hands and held the blade behind her as she ran elegantly toward Ezroch.

"This should be good," Bapple said to Dima as they watched the action unfold.

Eve made an upward, diagonal swipe at Ezroch while running. He barely dodged it and was not ready for the second swipe that immediately followed. She looked back at Nalus, saw some time was still needed, and snapped her fingers. She vanished and reappeared behind Ezroch after a few seconds had passed. She began sprinting, faster than anyone present would've given her credit for, and releasing a trail of white energy spheres behind her in the outline of a semi-circle. She came to an immediate halt and waved her arm, causing all of the spheres to suddenly rush toward and pummel Ezroch.

When Ezroch was finished being pelted, Nalus finally released what she'd been conjuring. Dozens of white, cloud-looking shots of magic came out from the staff and went straight toward Ezroch, knocking him over.

"All yours, chief," Dima said, handing Bapple her sword. She smiled, gently placing his spears on the ground and grabbing it from his hand.  
"Your plan was good," she said, walking over to the dazed Ezroch. She raised her sword. "Mine was better."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Winning hurts**

The mercenaries returned home with spoils aplenty. Battered, hurting, and exhausted, they anchored the boat and left all but the holy artifact in it. Ezroch had cleverly hidden a tiny statue inside the pouch around his waist, but Bapple and company didn't waste too much manpower finding its location.

At the outpost, warm, welcoming faces greeted them.

"One, two, three," Ceara pointed at the heads as they came through the door, "four, five, and six! Phew!"  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Bapple rolled her eyes.  
"It's just good to see you all in decent condition after such a mission," Aodhan put a hand on her shoulder as she sat down.  
"My back hurts! Oh, wait, my arms hurt, too. Actually, so do my legs. Everything hurts," Maks groaned.  
"The adrenaline numbs the pain a bit," Aodhan reached over with his spare hand and patted Maks' head gently.  
"Where are those damn mercenaries? How long has it been?" Slam. Riordan pushed the outpost door open with more force than necessary. "There's the lazy lot."  
"You know," Bapple held a porcelain Morrighan by the tip of her wing, "even after all that work, I'm not opposed to dropping this on the floor right now."  
"Th-the holy artifact!" Riordan practically choked on his words. "Hand it over!"

Bapple yanked it upwards as he reached for it.

"I feel like sleeping for about three days straight right now, and you're not making me any less cranky."  
"You insubordinate little..."  
"If you'd humor me and at least pretend to be grateful for the fact that we pretty much saved humanity today..."  
"Ergh," Riordan's face went redder than usual. "Good work, mercenaries," he said through his teeth, "you have saved us some trouble."  
"Eh, close enough."

Bapple casually lobbed the statue into the air, and Riordan scrambled to catch it. He cursed under his breath as he walked past Gwynn to go back outside.

"Well, in case you don't already know," Gwynn stood up straight, "your service today has been more valuable than the Deputy Commander can put into words. Excellent job. I expect a full mission report, but it can wait until you're all rested up. I must admit I'm interested in what happened."  
"Oh, it'll be a fun read," Nalus said, resting the side of her head on her arms on the table.

**Bapple's room, the next afternoon...**

Knock, knock.

"Whaaaat?" Bapple sat against the bedboard with a book in her hands.

Creeeeak.

"Well hello to you, too," Shayla invited herself in and winked as she closed the door behind her.  
"Oh, sorry," Bapple said, putting the book down and stretching. "Ow."  
"Poor thing. I heard you had quite a day yesterday."  
"That's one way to put it. Your goods are in that bag over there, by the way."  
"Believe it or not, I do care about things other than my clients. But I'll put the bag over by the door so I don't forget, hehe."  
"I'm beat."  
"You look it. I brought some herbal tea, courtesy of Brynn."  
"Brynn?" Bapple grabbed the cup and put it on her nightstand.  
"Mhm. I went on over to that gloomy shop of his to have some crystals identified, and he asked me to deliver it. If you didn't know better, you'd think he cared about you or something."  
"I'm sure he had some condescending cover-up for it," Bapple smiled.  
"Haha, of course. So what happened yesterday?"  
"Ugh," Bapple flung herself into a lying position, "I'll tell you later. I ache too much."  
"Fiiiine. Maybe you can also tell me about a certain romantic moment I heard about from a little birdy..."  
"Mmph!" Bapple closed the sides of her pillow around her head.

**The next morning...**

Ink ran gleefully between the trees, inspecting each one thoroughly. Bapple was taking him for a walk in the fields just outside of Colhen, a new daily routine. She yawned, paying just enough attention to make sure he didn't harass any sheep.

"Good morning, human," a dark, raspy voice said from beside her.  
"Mornin'," Bapple said through another yawn, not even turning to face the dark circle floating next to her.  
"At least act a little startled."  
"I'm too exhausted to be startled."  
"I suppose that's fair. By the way, hell of a performance the other day."  
"Heh," Bapple grinned, "another upset?"  
"Oh, you can't even imagine the uproar. I think Fomors may have more swear words than humans do."  
"Aren't you mad that we got the statue back?"  
"I don't really care. Not my plan, not my problem."

Bapple looked confused. She was about to say something when she got interrupted.

"Uh oh. You'd better stop talking to yourself. Bye!"

With that, the darkness vanished.

"Hello, Bapple!" Tieve said from the gate.

Tieve approached her at a walking pace. Ink thundered over to Tieve, barely stopping himself from knocking her over, and trotted next to her with his tail high in the air as she walked.

"That's weird," Tieve looked puzzled, "did you feel anything in the air just now?"  
"Nope."  
"Hm! Well I'm on my way to the temple. I'll let Ink get back to taking you for a walk." She giggled.  
"Bark!" Ink wagged his tail expectantly until Tieve pet him on the head.

**At the outpost...**

Dima and Maks arm wrestled at a table, and Dijkstra stood in his usual corner, deeply contemplating whatever was going through his head. Nalus and Eve walked through the door together and stood surprised, looking at their friends.

"Do we all really not have anything better to do?" Nalus slumped her shoulders.

_THUD!_ Maks' hand hit the table.

"Ow!"  
"Hard to break longtime habits," Dima dusted his hands, "just like it's hard to break me. Next!"  
"Oh yeah, I've heard all about your arm wrestling feats," Nalus rolled her eyes as she and Eve took seats at an adjacent table.  
"Hey, that was a long time ago. She just surprised me, that's all."

_Tip tip tip tip tip. Pant pant._

Ink's paws clicked against the hardwood floor of the outpost as he trotted inside and plopped down between the two tables. Not long after, Bapple sluggishly walked inside.

"Hey, chief," Nalus said, "now it's really a party."

Bapple silently sat down and let out a sigh. Ink raised his head from the ground and licked her hand.

"What's up with you?" Nalus asked. "I haven't seen you like this since the morning after the Christmas party."  
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm still aching all over. Hopefully it's not the end of the world again for a few more days."

Aodhan walked over from the counter.

"Me too," he looked at everyone, "because you all deserve some time off."  
"So far, we've spent our time off here in the outpost," Nalus said.  
"Exactly. You all should take a boat to somewhere nice for once. There's an island called Malina that's Southwest of the continent. The change of scenery would probably do you all some good."

The five who weren't Dijkstra instantly erupted into conversations about islands, vacations, beaches, and sunsets.

"Haha, I guess it's settled, then. There's a ferry that comes in once a week, and that happens to be tomorrow morning. That should give you guys plenty of time to get ready."

**The back room of the forge...**

"Malina, huh? Say hi to Tristan for me," Shayla said.  
"You know people in Malina?"  
"I probably know every person there for one reason or another. They've got their own things going on over there; you can probably make some money while you're gone. I guess that'd defeat the purpose of a vacation, though."  
"I don't even know what we'll do while we're there."  
"Oh you all are pretty good at finding stuff to do," Shayla winked. "What you need to worry about is packing. Don't forget your swimsuit!"  
"Swim...suit?"  
"Tch," Shayla shook her head, "you're lucky you have me."

Shayla grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something down on it.

"Go and take this to the general store. Be quick about it; you've got stuff to do."

Bapple blindly took it and ran to the other side of the town.

**Meanwhile, in Rocheste...**

Dima and Maks kicked up dust as they raced in a straight line from the carriage to a house's doorstep.

"Bettercatchup!"  
"Nowaysnail!"  
"Keepdreaming!"

The two kept exchanging taunts and just barely avoiding bulldozing several Rocheste citizens until they reached the house.

"Beat you!" Dima bent over, hands on his knees, panting.  
"Yeah right!" Maks leaned against the wall.

The door opened and Gav peeked out.

"I thought I heard thunder," he smiled.

"**WHO WON?!**" the two shouted in unison.

**Back at the general store in Colhen...**

"Hi, Bapple!" Aislinn put down the ceramic cup she'd been rubbing with a cloth. "What can I do for you?"  
"Uhm," Bapple held up the piece of paper.  
"Hmm," Aislinn delicately grabbed it and inspected it. "Ooh, I see. Clodagh, get Bapple here the purple two-piece in the back."  
"Okay!"

_CRASH!_

A minute later, Clodagh came back from the storage room with ruffled hair and both halves of a bikini swimsuit in her hands.  
"Here you go!"  
"I wear this? There's not anything else?"

Aislinn and Clodagh laughed, and Bapple was treated to ten more minutes of girl talk than the expected zero.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Vacation**

"Golly," the ferryman said, "it's a good thing I had to use the trade ship this week."

Dima, Maks, and Gav had formed a short assembly line to deliver the luggage from the ground to the ferry, an unexpectedly tiresome task.

_Plop_.

"That's the last of 'em!" Dima shouted. He held out his hand politely; Nalus and Eve, one after the other, curtsied and boarded the ship with his help. Bapple walked past him and jumped onto the deck.  
"Would one of you mind shoving us off?" the ferryman shouted from the front of the ship.  
"Last one on is squidbait!" Maks shouted as he and Gav ran toward the boat, pushing each other away. They both reached the wood and tumbled onto the deck, landing on their backs.  
"Looks like that's you!" Dima said to Dijkstra, who was coming out of the town at his own pace.

Dijkstra's facial expression, as usual, didn't change. He planted his boots in the sand, gripped the edge of the boat, and heaved until it started to float forward. Bapple held out a hand and he pulled himself onboard before getting too wet.

"Next stop, the beautiful island of Malina. Estimated time of arrival is two hours."

**One hour later...**

Some nefarious-sounding laughter in the distance turned everyone's head.

"Uh oh," said the ferryman.  
"What kind of _uh oh_?" Nalus asked.  
"Those are pirates."  
"You didn't say anything about pirates when we were on shore!" Gav shouted.

Bapple silently lifted her head from Dima's chest, looked at Dijkstra, and tapped the palm of her hand. He nodded and moved himself behind some luggage.

"Just give them w-what they want, and..." the ferryman started.  
"Not a chance," Bapple said. "You duck down and stay out of sight." She got to her feet, looking at the rest. "There's no heavy artillery on that ship, so all we have to worry about is what they can fit in their hands. Dima, Maks, and Gav: be ready for combat. Nalus, Eve: be ready to torch their boat to hell. No one act without a signal unless they surprise us."

The large, formidable ship drew closer, and one man peeked over the stern with a grin on his face.

"Hello, travelers!" he shouted over the water. "We seem to have lost our gold! Can we take yours off your hands?"

Bapple cleared her throat.

"No!" she grinned smugly.  
"That's cute," he shouted back. "can I talk to the man in charge?"  
"I was just about to ask the same thing!"

The man turned around and waved his hand to shut up all the chuckling crew mates.

"Look, girly, there's a lot of ocean out there and we'd like to pillage your boat without wasting time so we can go on sailing."

Bapple reached into the pouch on her belt, grabbed a golden coin, and flicked it into the ocean.

"I hear there are sharks out here. You better stay up there where it's safe."

Visibly perturbed, the man got more impatient.

"I didn't want to resort to killing you, but..." he pulled out an old, flintlock pistol and begain to take aim. Bapple didn't budge.

_FWIT!_

He held his bleeding hand, yelling in pain, as the pistol twirled around on its way into the ocean.

"Nice shot," Bapple said quietly, delivering a thumb-up behind her back. "Nalus, think you can get me on the deck?"  
"It'd take the wind out of me, but yeah."

Nalus held out her hand, and Bapple grabbed it, after picking up her sword, an instant before they vanished. The rest of the boat was silent for a moment in awe and a bit of annoyance.

"Someone needs to -" Eve started.  
"I will," Dima said. "Dijkstra, stay on point." The two disappeared just as quickly.

Bapple and Nalus reappeared on the deck, far enough away from everyone who was tending to the wounded captain. Nalus fell to her knees.

"Shh," Bapple squeezed her shoulder gently. "Thanks."

Dima and Eve occupied the spot next to them in a flash.

"You know we're outnumbered, right?" Dima said.  
"Yeah, but we're not outwitted. Nalus and Eve, take it easy. I'll try to do this elegantly."

Bapple and Dima walked toward the crew as the other two remained seated and exhausted.

"Just a day in the life, huh?" Eve panted.  
"And we weren't even looking for trouble this time."

Bapple and Dima walked heel-to-toe to the group. Four stood around the captain, who was now sitting in a fetal-like position.

"Sweep?" Dima muttered.  
"Sounds good. Make sure they stay swept.  
"You got it."

They approached the oblivious group and then crouched down as they were noticed. Bapple hit the backs of two sets of legs with the flat of her sword, and Dima spun around with a kick to hit the other two. The men hit the floor and Dima jumped to his feet, pointing his spears at them.

"Boo," Bapple said, leveling the tip of her blade at the captain's neck.  
"H-how did you... Where did..." he stuttered, looking left and right.  
"So you guys are pirates. At least that's the story I heard. You all don't look like pirates, though. You look like some cowards with guns."

Bapple gestured to Dima. He moved the tip of his spear to the belt of one of the men, swifty stuck it through the trigger guard of a pistol on his waist, and lifted it up.

"What's in that chest over there?" Bapple cocked her head toward the back of the ship.  
"Gold."  
"Hey Nalus!" Bapple pushed the blade against his skin and turned around. "Get this! This guy just asked if you could please melt his gold for him!"  
"Did he also ask me to take some melting tax?"  
"No, but I'm not looking!"

Bapple turned back to the man on the ground and put her sword away. Clinking in the background was followed by a short wave of warmth.

"How about that one?" she pointed in another direction.  
"Please, miss, that's our food supply. Have mercy."  
"What do you think I am, a pirate? You're gonna need the food while you're out here."

Bapple redirected her pointing finger to the sail and snapped. Eve pitched a small fireball upward and it made contact, setting the sail ablaze and then fizzling. Bapple spun around and began walking back to Eve and Nalus. Dima relieved the men on the ground and followed her. The man nearest the captain reached for the gun he'd hidden in the bottom of his pant leg.

"Don't," the captain said dryly, "you'll just piss her off even more."


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: Vacation from the vacation**

"Ding ding," the ferryman said, "welcome to the island of Malina. Please remain seated until the boat has come to a complete stop. The sandy area is for loading and unloading only."

Six pairs of eyes widened and focused on the scenery; the last pair remained pointed and fixed upon the horizon behind them.

"Get on out. I gotta continue westward in about 20 minutes."

Each of the boys started hauling luggage out of the ferry and onto the dock until the ferry was empty.

"Lookie!" a new voice said, "Tourists!"

They all turned to see a middle-aged, weathered man with ragged black hair that went down to his neck. He dropped a cigar on the ground, stomped it out, and walked over, extending his arm. Bapple walked over to greet him.

"The name's Tristan," he said.  
"Shayla says hi," Bapple answered, without missing a beat, grabbing his hand firmly.  
"Shayla? Haha! What's that broad up to these days?"  
"'Same as always' is probably the answer."  
"Filling impossible requests and being gorgeous, then. What brings you all to Malina?"

Dima slung a bag over his shoulder.

"It's a good vacation spot, or so we've heard," he said.  
"You most certainly heard right!" Tristan boasted. "I thought you might be chasing treasure or looking for some kind of excitement. Most of you look like you can hold your own well enough."  
"We've found our fair share of excitement. That's why we're taking a break over here for a week," Bapple said.  
"Ah, I can see in your eyes that that's an understatement. How about you come in and tell me more while my associates get your buddies situated at the White Whale Inn?"

**The inn...**

A boy in a fancy, blue coat with a bowl of red hair on his head heaved a cart carrying all the luggage to the doorstep of the inn. A sassy girl with glasses, brighter red hair, and a formidable chest followed close behind him, flicking his ear afterward.

"Think you took long enough, Asher? Trying to give these guests a heat stroke?"  
"Ow! It's a lot of luggage, Esyllt!"  
"Uh huh," she turned to the group. "Allysse will help you from here."

Esyllt winked, grabbing Asher by the ear and tugging him back to the beach.

"Hello!" a girl atop the set of wooden stairs on the side of the building greeted them. She had a cute, doll-like face and long, brown hair in a braided ponytail. She gracefully walked down the stairs.

"I heard all the commotion and knew it had to be some new guests. Wow, there's a bunch of you!"

"With one more on the way. She's talking shop with that Tristan guy at the moment," Gav pointed his thumb in the direction of the beach.  
"Hehe, he must see some potential in her. Well, I do have room for all of you. Hopefully you'll find our rates agreeable. My name is Allysse, by the way."  
"I'll do the agreeing," Nalus said, walking over to Allysse. "You all cool off in the shade for a bit."

Allysse and Nalus walked together into what was apparently the office room.

**Back at the beach...**

Tristan led Bapple into the large, wooden shack at the end of the docks. He pulled out a chair for her and sat at his own desk, kicking his feet up on top of it while reclining.

"This is the Coffer Chasers Guild," he said. "Well, this is the HQ. Most of the guild is helping your friends at the moment. I'm the leader."  
"I'm Bapple. My friends and I are from Colhen over on the mainland."  
"Colhen, Colhen... Sounds distantly familiar. I take it that's where Shayla's holed up right now?"  
"Yep. I don't know how someone like her ended up there, but I'm happy for it."  
"Life certainly knows how to guide us to where we need to be," Tristan stared at the ceiling for a moment. "So you guys are mercs or what?"  
"Jeez," Bapple laughed, "is it that obvious?"  
"Well I did see some rather large, sharp looking objects on that ferry," he joined in the laughter.

Tristan took a moment to ponder everything in silence.

"This island's pretty far out of the way of any military trouble, so you'll get a good break from mercenary work."  
"But..." Bapple grinned, looking at him expectantly.  
"But I'm sure you'll stay busy," he winked.

**That night...**

The moon was high, enveloping most of the island in a calming, white light. However, a portion of the beach was lit up vividly by the wild flames of a bonfire near the docks. Bapple and company sat on some logs a few yards away, watching the fire from a distance.

Tristan walked over and stood at the side of one of the logs.

"This place is beautiful," Eve said, looking up at him.  
"Trust me, it'll look even better pretty soon. We like giving travelers a show."

A tall, bulky man with muscles on his muscles approached Tristan from the same direction.

"You got the stuff?" Tristan asked.  
"Of course," the man said. He looked down at the group. "Hey, kiddies. The name's Enzo. I'm normally over on that side of the island," he pointed, "if you ever wanna know what the clouds look like up close."

Before anyone could fully process it, Tristan cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

"Chevelle! Get your pretty rear over here!"

Out from a shack, on the side of the beach opposite that of the Coffer Chasers building, a girl stretched and walked toward the fire. She had asymmetrical, crimson hair that curved down to her chest on one side of her face, with some of the back braided with a bow at the end. Her hips went back and forth as she ran her hand down her cheek and neck, inspecting the new lot of people.

"Told ya," Tristan grinned. Without warning, he picked up a long, cylindrical, carved piece of wood from the ground, and hurled it at her. Chevelle casually reached up and caught it, then twirling it around in her hand. Tristan did this a second time, and Chevelle caught the next one just as effortlessly.

Enzo took a pouch from his pants, opened it, and poured some powder into his hands. He tossed it toward the fire, and enough of it got caught in the flames to send two fireballs arcing through the air toward Chevelle. She spun around completely, catching each ball of flame on the edge of one of the pieces of wood without looking at either one. She swung them around elegantly, leaving two temporary trails of fire in the air, making a heart shape as large as herself only to leap through it and throw the sticks into the air. She caught them with opposite hands upon reentry, spun around to face the other direction, and kicked off; sending sand straight upward into the air, she made one, two, and three dashing slices around the bonfire. The three-sided fire trail she left lingered, not getting hit by a single speck of sand.

She stopped and spun once again to face the group, lowering herself and extending one leg far outward. She reached behind herself with her wooden sticks, holding the position. Tristan lifted up a dense bag, patted it a couple of times, and lobbed it over to her. Chevelle remained steady until it was practically in her face and then launched forward. A loud, slashing sound filled the air nearby as she launched herself forward. When she had landed, the trails of flames behind her had formed an X shape, and sand had spilled out from the bag onto the bonfire, putting it out completely. She flipped around the sticks and drove them into the beach's sand, putting out the flames.

Everyone present started to clap, but Chevelle turned around silently and walked back to the shack.

"Heh, sorry about that. Hope you enjoyed the show, though," Tristan said.  
"Hey," Maks elbowed Nalus softly, "how much you wanna bet Bapple's gonna -"

Bapple got up, nodded to Tristan, and headed off in the same direction.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: Doesn't play well with others**

**At the White Whale Inn...**

Alysse twirled her hair around her finger as she stood at the doorway of the bedroom.

"Sorry, we don't have enough beds to accommodate you all separately. You'll have to do some sharing."  
"It's okay, Alysse," Dima said. She smiled and walked away. "I'll take Bapple, and the rest of you can figure out your own situations."  
"Not in your dreams, Romeo," Nalus said. "She's all ours tonight," she put an arm around Eve and stuck her tongue out. Eve winced and then, after a moment, also stuck her tongue out.  
"What's a Romeo?"

**Back at Chevelle's shack...**

Chevelle closed the door behind her and peeled off her top.

_Knock knock._

"Ugh," she said pretty audibly as she about-faced and reopened the door. Bapple stood on the other side expectantly. "What?"  
"Er," Bapple stuttered, not expecting the half-shirt that was just barely keeping Chevelle within decency. "That was quite a show. Where'd you learn that kind of swordsmanship?"  
"I was dancing."  
"You call that dancing? Do any of your dance partners survive?"  
"I like it rough. Do you want something? I'm kinda tired."  
"Can I get a minute?"

Chevelle sighed. She shrugged and turned around to walk toward her bed, keeping the door open. Bapple crept inside and closed the door behind her, gawking at the tiny, single room.

"You'll have to excuse my mess," Chevelle said from the bed, yanking off her socks.  
"Working on something?" Bapple carefully stepped over the documents that littered the floor as she took a seat.  
"I didn't say there was a reason for the mess; you'll just have to excuse it," Chevelle winked.

Bapple shifted uncomfortably in the chair she found in the corner of the shack.

"Pirates," Chevelle said.  
"What?"  
"The answer to your question."  
"Oh. Well you're the nicest pirate I've met today."  
"Yuck," Chevelle scoffed, "I'd appreciate it if you'd not come into my home and call me names like that."  
"Er, sorry."  
"Forget it. What kind of pirate trouble did you have today, anyway? How much did you lose?"  
"About twenty minutes or so. A quiet boat ride is too much to ask for apparently."

Chevelle put a finger to her own lips, as they curled into a grin, studying Bapple.

"I see," she said, "What're mercenaries doing on this quiet little island?"  
"Hey, I didn't say we resolved it with force," Bapple smiled. "We could be normal people."  
"There's no talking to pirates."  
"Red-handed," Bapple shrugged. "Vacation, to answer your question. A much-needed vacation. I'm Bapple, by the way."  
"Well," Chevelle tugged at her pants, "I truly, madly, and deeply hope you're enjoying it, Bapple."

Bapple had picked up a photo on the nearby desk and started to look up from it.

"Definitely, lots of nice sights to see – er, can you stop that?"

Chevelle tossed them into a pile on the floor.

"What? It's hot tonight."

Bapple sighed and stood up.

"Anyway," she tried to focus on the ceiling, "if you're ever tired of being the main attraction..."

Chevelle repositioned herself so she was lying on her stomach, facing Bapple.

"Let's hope not. I always will be," she winked.  
"...you clearly can take care of yourself. We could use -"  
"I'm not interested in your holy wars," Chevelle cut her off, "but thanks for asking. I'm flattered."

Bapple pursed her lips, thinking. She eventually shrugged.

"Alright. Worth a shot I guess! I'd better get back to the inn and get ready for bed."  
"It's such a long walk across the beach and up that hill. You're welcome to spend the night," Chevelle rolled over and looked at Bapple, upside down.  
"Er, I think I'll manage," Bapple said, raising her eyebrow as she reached for the doorknob. After a moment, she finally broke into a smile and shook her head.

**Back at the inn...**

Bapple walked past the room with the boys in it and lumbered through the second doorway. She was greeted by Eve, sitting on the edge of the bed, with Nalus immediately behind her working on her hair. Bapple waved weakly as she closed the door and began pulling off her outer clothes.

"That's one fewer person than I expected," Nalus said. "Guess you and your charm can't win 'em all."  
"Yeah, something like that. Man, I'm beat. It's been a long day. I think I'm just gonna lie down and stay that way for a week."  
"Would you like a massage?" Eve suggested as Nalus admired her finished product.

**In the boys' room...**

Dijkstra knelt, back against the wall, in his usual sleeping position. Gav stood alone on a small bed, throwing mock punches and kicks at the air. Dima and Maks lied miserably as far away as possible from each other on the larger of the two beds.

"I wonder how Bapple's visit went. That Chevelle is some hot stuff. I definitely wouldn't mind if we picked her up," Gav said, changing from fighting motions to some rather explicit ones.  
"Don't kid yourself," Dima turned over to his side.

Gav started to say something, but it got drowned out by a muffled sound from the wall.

"Mmmm!"

They all listened intently.

"Oh, yes! Don't stop! Right there! Morrighan and Macha, that feels good!"

The boys' room was very quiet that night.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32: Welcome to the jungle**

Bapple sat next to Chevelle on a bench in the shade at the local bar. A dark-skinned woman with huge hoop earrings and decorated wraps covering her hair and body spoke to them in a thick islander accent.

"You two dearies better eat up. You be all skin and bones and it makes me wanna fatten ya up."  
"I got meat where it matters," Chevelle said. Bapple almost choked on her piece of chicken.

The sun was directly above them. Without a cloud in the sky, almost everything in Malina was hot to touch. The rest of the group was inside the two rooms at the inn, opting to sleep in rather than eat.

"So," Chevelle said through half a mouthful of chicken, "how'd you end up with that team of yours?"

**Back in Colhen...**

"Aodhan!" a booming voice shouted, causing some of the tables to shake.  
"Ingkells," Aodhan didn't budge from organizing documents, "I felt your personality approaching back before you got out of the carriage."  
"Ha! You're as fun as ever. It's awfully quiet around here."  
"Your adopted daughter and her friends are vacationing in Malina right now."  
"Is that what she is, now?"  
"Don't tell me you don't see the 'Maelstrom' in her."

Ingkells stared wistfully at the wall.

"Malina, huh? Isn't that Coffer Chaser HQ?"

Aodhan grinned.

"Well, they were bored."

**Malina**

"Huh," Chevelle said. "So Eve used to be an evil sex demon, except she wasn't because she was being possessed by a Fomor spirit that a voice in your head - who came from a magical book, no less - warned you about."  
"That's the gist of it," Bapple sipped some lemonade.

Chevelle went to do the same and noticed her glass was empty. Simone, the cook, grabbed it to refill it.

"I guess I'm crazy, too, cause I kinda believe you."  
"Yet another reason you'd fit in."  
"Pfft," Chevelle grabbed her glass and took a swig. "So, on a personal level, what was your most satisfying job?"

**Colhen**

"You there. Marrec, was it? Tell us what you know," Ingkells crossed his arms expectantly.  
"Yes, sir." Marrec stood up straight. "The trolls at Hilder Forest are more ferocious than usual. They're borderline feral, really, and there's no discernible cause."  
"Hm." Ingkells rubbed his beard. "The trolls are no immediate threat to Ortel, but I can imagine how this could escalate if given time. Have we any mercs?"  
"None I'd assign such a task to," Aodhan said.  
"I guess we wait, then."

**Malina**

"You practically handed yourself over after trying to kill him, and he just took your hat?"  
"All wars could probably be avoided if both sides tried to understand each other."

The two sat in silence, finishing their meals. Minutes later, some footsteps came thundering up the hill connecting the beach and the town.

"Where's the boss?!" Esyllt shouted in an uncharacteristically loud way.  
"Counting money?" Chevelle didn't even turn around. "How should I know?"  
"He left this," Esyllt spat out, shoving a crumpled piece of paper between the two girls.

Chevelle showed no interest. Bapple eventually grabbed it and read aloud:

_Guild,  
__I'm on to something big. I can feel it in my bones. There's treasure to be found, and you all are too lazy to be awake right now. Anyway, no time for fun and games. I'll be back with everything you want.  
Tristan_

Esyllt was almost red from anger.

"So he could be anywhere in the world right now. We don't know, and we never will because he's too old to be doing this by himself."  
"He's at Crescent Moon Island. Chill out," Chevelle put her chin into her hand.  
"I thought you didn't know!"  
"I didn't. He told us in that letter." She turned to Bapple with a bored, indifferent look on her face and was met with a confused one. "He thought he was clever by putting words from an old sailing song in there."

Esyllt's face did not get any lighter.

"Maybe," Bapple cleared her throat, "my friends and I can go find and retrieve him."  
"Oh, no," Esyllt was suddenly humble again, "I couldn't ask our guests to do something like that."  
"You don't have to ask; I already offered. I'll have to see how the rest feel about it, of course, but it's fine with me. I have a feeling our captain didn't send us here thinking we'd take a week off."  
"Well thank you in advance if you do decide to go. We will compensate you all with the inn fares and some extra. I'll go notify the ferryman."

Esyllt trotted off back toward the beach.

"That didn't take long," Bapple got up and pushed her plate forward. "I'm gonna go rally, or awaken, the troops. I guess I'll see you whenever we're back!"  
"What, you're just gonna leave me here?"  
"Wouldn't dream of it." Bapple smiled. "Go get ready. We don't have any spare sharp things, though."

Bapple walked toward the inn. Chevelle watched her disappear, then took a relaxed breath and got up to head to the shack. She grabbed the air with both hands and flung one set of fingers back and forth.

"Cha na na na na na na!"


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33: Looking for Tristan's clues**

"Is it just me, or is the boat more crowded this time?" the ferryman asked.  
"I guess I have no choice but to sit on someone's lap," Chevelle grinned. "Any takers?"

The boat was soon shoved off, and the ferryman steered it westward. He stood at the bow, keeping watch, careful not to step on any of the killing utensils placed on a large cloth. Bapple was catching up on some sleep, lying down on one side of the boat. Toward the back, Chevelle recounted some sea tales to win the others over.

"...and he said, 'You better find the opening to attack, or you'll be seeing how cold the water is today,' before charging at me."

All who were awake, with even the ferryman and Dijkstra turning an eye occasionally, listened intently.

"Did you find it?" Maks asked expectantly.  
"Knocked him right on his salty ass," Chevelle crossed her arms. "Pirates are scum, as you've found out. Real sailors, though, they're different. They're not a whole lot better attitude-wise, but they've at least got plenty to teach you. Everything I know about the wind I learned from that disgusting man and use in swordplay."

Nalus raised her hand.

"Did you spend most of your life on the sea? How'd you end up in Malina?"  
"I was born on the coast of the mainland; nowhere near Colhen, though. When I was a kid I'd hitch rides on outgoing boats all the time, sometimes successfully. Eventually I found one to stay on until -" she turned around for a moment, "Oh, we're close. Too bad."  
"Until wh- Ow!" Gav started, but he felt a pinch.

**On the shore...**

"Crescent Moon Island," the ferryman said with a sigh, "one of many. Please exit the boat carefully and don't forget to get these weapons the hell away from me!"

Dijkstra got up from his usual kneeling position, grabbed his bow, and hopped off the boat. He held out his hand, but Nalus and Eve disappeared and reappeared on the sand as soon as they'd grabbed their items.

"Ooh, hold that gentlemanly thought!" Chevelle said. She pranced across the boat, stopping to awaken Bapple with a slap on the rear, and grabbed her two swords. "Dankon, belulo," she winked as he helped her off the boat.  
"You know my home language?" Dijkstra raised a brow, finally surprised at something.  
"Nah, that's all I can say."

Bapple rubbed her eyes, and Dima helped her to her feet.

"How uncomfortable was the trip?" she asked as Maks handed her the sword and shield.  
"It was nice, except when Gav got seasick. We hit some nasty waves. Chevelle surprisingly spent a lot more time telling stories than flirting."

Once they were all grounded, they waved to the ferryman who'd already started to go back.

"Send a signal when you need me!" he shouted, still looking forward.

**In the jungle...**

"This place looks pretty big," Gav thought out loud as he stared straight upward.  
"Yeah, that fool could be on the other side for all we know," Chevelle said. "Wait," she held out her hand to the side for anyone behind her, "what the hell are those?"

In the distance ahead, some green figures with spears and shields skulked around.

"Jungle troll spearmen." Nalus recited. "Native to Crescent Moon Island and very hostile to invaders. Other staples of the tribe include braves and shamans."

Chevelle turned around.

"What, do you have the book or so- oh."  
"So do we sneak past them or what?" Maks asked. "We can't just slaughter them."

As they debated among themselves, some nearby bushes rustled.

"Hello, humans. I am Deniz."

An unarmed, feminine jungle troll carefully stepped out from camouflage. Everyone took guard.

"Whaddya want?" Bapple said, readying her sword.  
"Please, no fight," Deniz held her hands out. "I help."

Bapple studied her closely for a moment and then relaxed her posture.

"She's okay. What can you tell us, Deniz?"  
"This tribe ruined. Only few good left. We have chief Kielu, gone bad. Kielu control our snake god. Them," she pointed to the spearmen from before, "lost. No help."  
"That's great," Chevelle said impatiently, "but have you seen another human lately?"  
"Yes," Deniz was either impervious or oblivious to the sarcasm, "black hair and red cloth on head. He go there," she pointed in the same direction. "In danger."  
"Anything else you need to tell us?" Bapple asked.  
"Kielu have two servants: Zaka and Kaula. Zaka make Earth shake. Kaula have big bug."

At that moment, they heard a few yelps from within the jungle; the spearmen had started rallying and heading for their position.

"Go time!" Bapple shouted, lifting her equipment.  
"Keep your eyes open," Nalus stuffed the book back into her bag, "they know this place a lot better than w- ah!"

Dima grabbed her wrist as he, Maks, and Gav charged forward. Bapple's hair swayed in the same direction as Chevelle bolted toward the fight.

"Hide here," Bapple said to Deniz as she and Eve caught up. Dijkstra kneeled next to the bush and prepared his first arrow.

"Hah!" Nalus shouted as she created a fresh slice in the nearest troll. Suddenly, it was connected by a faint thread to every other troll within a few trees.  
"Set 'em up!" Dima said, bowling through a few tangled trolls.  
"Knock 'em down!" Maks launched himself at one who was running after Dima.  
"Send 'em home!" Gav plunged his swords into the ground, sending a shockwave through the bodies of the nearest ones still standing.

Chevelle caught the attention of another group of them and taunted them to come at her. _Let's hope these are still sharp_, she thought to herself as she assumed the unmistakable position. Closer, closer, and closer still. She didn't budge until the tip of one spear was close enough to see double. _**SCHHHHHK! **_Chevelle had maneuvered through all of them and ended up behind the last. Moments later, a breeze finally followed and acted as a signal for the gashes to start spurting. She stood still, managing the adrenaline, and watched the others.**  
**

"Urrghn!" _FWIT!_

She turned around to see a troll, still living only seconds before, dropping its spear and falling stiffly to the ground with an arrow in its head. Chevelle held a thumb in the air as she caught her breath.

_BOOM! BOOM!_

Meanwhile, Bapple and Eve were going uncontested for the brightest display. Bapple sat behind her shield and sent each troll flying as they came one-by-one and attacked predictably. To ensure they stayed down, Eve would mumble some incantations and zap Bapple's shield between every strike; this caused a flashy explosion at each moment of impact.

Soon, the entire area went silent, and everyone regrouped. Deniz came out of a nearby bush.

"See tribe die, hurt Deniz. But must happen. Zaka and Kaula ahead. Be ready, humans."

With that, she vanished into the trees again.

"Alright, we don't know if the chief wi-" Bapple started.  
"Kielu," Nalus held a finger up.  
"Thanks."  
"That's what I'm here for."  
"We don't know if Ki-e-lu will be deeper in the jungle, show up after these two are gone, or just hop in the fray immediately. Don't exhaust yourself too early."

Gav whispered something to Maks and both chuckled. Bapple stared at them, but ignored it.

"Any questions?"  
"Can I go to the bathroom?" Chevelle asked.  
"I asked if you had to go before we left. Any other questions?"

Gav raised his hand.

"Yes, Gav?" Bapple sighed.  
"What time is it?"

Before Bapple had a chance to answer, Dijkstra shot a fist in the air.

"Ass-kicking time!" with an unforgivingly thick accent.

All present turned to look at him in surprise. They then gave up and cheered, but their voices were soon drowned out by screeching. They turned around and saw two figures steadily approaching.

"Dibs on the one without the big bug," Chevelle said.  
"Same."  
"Same."  
"Same," said the other three females present.  
Same. Dammit!"

The screeching got louder.

"C'mon!" Bapple shouted, running for Zaka. "Let's shut 'em up!"

**Zaka**

She approached and stopped, standing equal with Zaka, staring her down. Zaka looked like the rest, except with a few bright, blue feathers sticking out of her helmet. Zaka made the first move, bringing down a huge weapon - undoubtedly made from a huge tree - with impressive speed. Bapple stuck out her shield and was sent skidding backward into Chevelle who caught and embraced her.

"Beautiful, strong, and you smell good, too."  
"Good catch."

Nalus and Eve ran side by side, leaving energy trails behind the tips of their weapons, zig-zagging in a figure-8 pattern toward Zaka.

**Kaula**

Kaula, with her colorful feathered skirt and tall, gravity-defying ,feathery head ornament, stood hunched over, wielding a small axe in each hand. A gigantic, green-tinted, human-sized wasp loomed over her.

"Fakeout!" Dima shouted. He darted for the bushes. Dijkstra took cover behind a rock and kept an eye on both trolls.  
"Left!" Maks kicked up dust, running to the side and then straight toward Kaula. Equally quickly, Gav left his standing position with a jolt and ran on Maks' right side.

Maks and Gav were close enough that a nudge to the shoulder would send either one toppling, but their path was well-executed. Kaula raised its arms and swung down, ready to connect an easy shot. However, Maks and Gav each made a right-angle turn away from each other at the last possible moment, causing the axes to sink into the dirt. Right then, an arrow flew into the wasp's eye, causing it to flail about angrily. Shortly after, a pair of spears, glowing bright red, popped out of the bush with a human right behind them. Dima twirled them around in vertical circles, right into Kaula's back repeatedly.

**Zaka**

Zaka brought down her mighty weapon once again as Nalus and Eve got close. The impact with the ground sent very painful vibrations up through their bodies, and they both fell over immediately.

"Shit," Chevelle said. "Zaka make Earth shake. No kidding."  
"We can't let her hit the ground again. Nalus and Eve aren't moving any time soon. You said the wind is your thing?"  
"Yeah, if you've got something reasonable in mind."  
"I don't have anything in mind at all. Just make it miss."

Chevelle got up from her position and was near Zaka, who was already lifting the weapon again, in an instant.

"No pressure or anything, jeez," she muttered to herself.

_Whoooosh._ In the following seconds, Chevelle connected all of the dots in her head and dove slightly away from Zaka, planting the tip of one sword into the ground, and used it as a base to whirl around once. Zaka's weapon came plummeting down as usual, but halfway down a rough breeze suddenly picked up and pushed it to the left, wasting most of the momentum. Taken by surprise, Zaka didn't notice Bapple jetting forward, shield in front, headed straight for her. The shield connected with a _THUNK_, and Zaka was so rattled that she let go of the weapon.

"All yours," Bapple said, panting.  
"You ladies might want to turn your heads," Chevelle formed an "X" shape with her swords.

**Kaula**

Kaula was shooting blood out of her back, and the wasp was angrier than ever with only one working eye. _FWIT_. Correction: 0 working eyes. Bapple walked over to Dijkstra with Nalus in her arms.

"Can you give him an exploding round? That thing needs to be put out of its misery."  
"Sure, whatever. This not-walking thing is nice," Nalus waved her hand around a few times, and Dijkstra's arrow started glowing.  
"Hit the deck!"

_BOOM!_

"Ewww," said a few people.

**Then...**

_Screeeech!_

Zooming down from the highest tree came what could only be Kielu, with a vicious-looking tusked mask covering two glowing, red eyes.

"Well that's not good," Chevelle carried Eve over to the group.  
"Had enough?" Bapple asked playfully.  
"Pft, yeah right. Didn't you hear what time it is?"  
"Ass-kicking time!" everyone else replied.

Maks took a few steps forward.

"Get Nalus and Eve to a safe spot. We'll hold off Kielu." White light shone from underneath his clothes and got brighter until the appearance of the paladin replaced his own.

"Oooh," Bapple quietly teased as she placed Nalus in a sitting position behind a large tree.  
"Oh hush. Try not to break too many bones, okay? We've got enough to take care of with just us out of commission."

Chevelle gingerly let Eve down next to Nalus and cracked her knuckles.

"Ahh!" they heard from another corner of the area. Dijkstra was cradling his chin with his hand. "There's something big in the ground!"

Chevelle felt a rumbling underneath her that quickly subsided. She noticed Bapple standing still and grabbed her hand to yank her over. The dirt where Bapple had just been standing exploded as a huge, pointed, scaly thing momentarily popped out of the ground.

"I love your eyes when you're surprised," she said breathily.  
"Thanks times two." Bapple motioned for Chevelle to run with her, then cupped her hands and shouted to the rest, "Don't stand still!"  
"How much longer do you think Maks has?"  
"Probably less than a minute. Why?"  
"I got a funny idea," she said, running faster toward the fight.

She suddenly bent over and slid forward silently before propelling herself into the air, front-flipping over the team and almost crash-landing both blades into Kielu, stopped only by a lucky block. She turned back and quickly whispered to Maks before vanishing as quickly as she'd come. Maks briefly considered it and then ran to a now-desolate part of the area, hoisting Zaka's ridiculous weapon with much more ease than expected.

"Outta the way!" Maks was clearly the entity in control of the body for this. He charged forward, holding the weapon out to the side. Kielu turned to look, but it was far too late; countless bones in the upper part of Kielu's skeleton were broken at that moment. She stumbled and then decisively fell down.

Bapple walked up to the group.

"That _was_ pretty funny. Good job, everyone. Start up a campfire and pray we get to breathe for a minute while I go check on the more delicate team members."


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34: Scale-covered god**

All 8 sat around a fire, exhaustion slowly seeping out of them courtesy of the multicolored fumes emitted when Nalus tossed some powder in. Some footsteps and cracking twigs got louder behind them, and soon Deniz stepped out, holding the wrist of none other than…

"Tristan!"Gav shouted.  
"Me!" Tristan yanked his arm free.  
"Tribe find this human hiding while you fight," Deniz said.  
"Hey now, I'm not sure hiding is the right word."  
"I'm sure it is," Chevelle rolled her eyes. "Are you ready for us to bring your old ass home yet?"  
"Heh, you were impressive out there, Chev. Bapple's got a good eye for bloodlust."

Tristan ignored her and attempted to light a cigarette, but they were all too damp.

"We were barely in time to save you from getting slaughtered, and the first thing you do is try to kill yourself with one of those?"  
"We all gotta die someday."

Bapple noticed Chevelle's fingers curling into a fist and placed a hand on her shoulder, turning to address Deniz.

"So are we done here? We took out the rogue chief and pretty much everyone in the tribe but you."  
"Our god, Lakoria, worse now. Kielu gone, no control."  
"So," Chevelle grew even more agitated, "maybe we should have _subdued_ her instead of _killing_ her. Or is rational thought beyond your capabilities?"  
"Hey, chill out," Dima said.  
"Yeah," Nalus added, "I'm sure they didn't know it'd get worse."

Chevelle got to her feet and clenched her fists. Bapple stood up immediately and gently coaxed her away from the group, out of the sun.

"Look," Bapple started.  
"What, you want me to chill out, too?"  
"Yeah. I'm with you on this one, but we gotta keep it together."

Chevelle slowly went back and forth from looking at Bapple to looking at the group, and her breathing eventually returned to normal. The others had wisely opted to make chit-chat with each other rather than stare.

"You can go take a jog, be overly provocative to me, punch a tree; whatever relaxes you would be good right now. We can lament over how short-sighted this tribe is over some drinks when we're back home."

Chevelle stared for a moment and finally snorted with a chuckle.

"Guilty as charged. You know what I like." She leaned forward and whispered into Bapple's ear, "I bet I know what you like."

Bapple quickly about-faced and walked back to the group. Chevelle followed closely behind with the spring having returned to her step.

"So does anyone have any experience killing gods?" Chevelle began to sit, but the entire area started rumbling.  
"Deniz," Bapple's expression suddenly went to stone, "get Tristan to the shore, and help him find the boat he came here on. Tristan, we'll find a way to signal when we need to come back. Let's move!"  
"Tribe will help."

With that, Deniz and Tristan disappeared into the greens as everyone else jumped to their feet and stood in a circle facing outwards.

"W-where's it coming from?" Maks' knuckles got brighter as he gripped his swords.

No one was able to answer, but no one had to answer. Within seconds, a huge patch of trees in on his side was instantly cleared. A gigantic, green snake towered over them, blocking the sun behind it.

"Spread out!" Bapple shouted.

Eve and Nalus vanished. Dijkstra had already vanished. Dima, Maks, and Gav ran together to Lakoria's right. Chevelle ran to its left. Bapple ran straight for it.

_**CLANG!**_

Lakoria swung the end of its tail and made hard contact with Bapple's shield; the impact caused her to roll backwards in the dirt. She got back up, wiped blood from her mouth, and ran forward again. This time, Dima, Maks, and Gav were chopping away at its side with their blades.

"Sssss!" said Lakoria as it inspected the damage.

Bapple took the opening and launched her foot into its skin, delivering one of her nasty kicks. Lakoria seemed to feel it a lot less than she did as she reeled back in pain.

"Holy…"  
"Did you seriously just try to kick it?" Chevelle shouted from about a hundred scales down, attempting to hack away at it.  
"It usually works!"

Chevelle replied, but there was too much noise to hear it. However, Bapple's imagination filled in the blanks pretty accurately. Meanwhile, Eve and Nalus strategized.

"Alright so you know the best way to get rid of a snake?" Nalus looked up at the monster of a reptile.  
"Tell a man to do it?"  
"That's right, you cut its head off."  
"Gomenasai, but that'll take a couple days at this rate."  
"Pardon?"  
"I said if you give it all you've got, I could amplify your scythe swing enough to cut through the skin."  
"I like it. All I've got, coming up!" Nalus' body was suddenly covered in black, ribbed, form-fitting armor, and her eyes began to glow a bright blue color.

Back where the action was, Maks complained.

"I swear these are sharpened! I'm not making a dent!"  
"Me either," Dima said. "I don't think anyone else is having any luck, either. Time to turn up the heat, I guess."

As Dima continued to whittle at the tough skin, blackness enveloped him and his spears. Suddenly, a much more adult-sounding voice replaced his own.

"You watching in there, kid? It's all in the wrist," as he took diagonal swipes at the scales.

Over at Bapple's location, Chevelle and Dijkstra reported their failures.

"I think these blades are gonna break if I keep at this."  
"I'm afraid my attempts have been futile, as well."

Bapple sighed, saw the snake was preoccupied, and turned to face them.

"Yeah, I dunno. I'm kinda playing by ear here. Two of us just transformed, though, so maybe they'll make some headway."

Eve, hands clasped and focusing on Nalus, muttered an incantation repeatedly. Nalus' scythe glowed an increasingly intense red as she held it behind her.

"Just a couple more," she said. "Alright, that should do it. HEY!" she shouted at Lakoria.

Lakoria's gaze shifted from Dima to her, and she immediately pulled with all the might she had to make a horizontal swing. A huge, crescent-shaped wave of black energy soared toward Lakoria's neck, causing a brilliant flash of light upon collision. Lakoria hissed in anger as its head flopped to the ground. Everyone looked back and forth between Nalus and the snake in disbelief.

"Woo-" they got halfway through a cheer by the time Lakoria stirred. A line along its spine formed and eventually opened, making a disgusting, sticky sound as the tearing propagated all the way to the end of the tail. From underneath the tear arose Lakoria again, displaying menacing frills on both sides of its head and some frightening colors and patterns all over its body now that its shell of an outer skin was gone.

"Are you kidding me?" Nalus smacked her forehead as the armor disappeared, leaving shreds of cloth covering her. "Oh yeah, and then this part of the transformation happens."  
"I'm sorry," Eve said quietly. "I guess it wasn't a good idea."  
"Hey, you never know," Nalus forced a smile as she covered herself, "maybe this skin isn't as tough."  
"Sssss!" Lakoria hissed.

Then, seemingly from the clouds in the sky, tens of human-sized arrows fell in unison and struck Lakoria on the head simultaneously. Bapple looked back to Dijkstra, but he was as dumbstruck as everyone else.

"Whatever," she said. "Go for it!" she then shouted. Everyone, reinvigorated, began striking Lakoria again.  
"This is much better," Gav said to Dima and Maks. "I feel like I'm actually hurting it now."  
"Yeah, this is _so_ much better," Dima sighed as the dark armor faded and left behind battern and rusted armor.

Lakoria regained its wits and raised its head again.

"I think that was Deniz's tribe just now!" Bapple held her shield over her head and grinned to her friends. "Good job with cutting open the skin, by the way! I think if we can count on more air support, we sh-"

Bapple was rudely interrupted when Lakoria swooped down and swallowed her.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35: Drastic measures**

_Please don't be afraid. I want to help.  
_Eve's arms slumped.

_Whatever. I was gonna ask you guys to go along with me to Perilous Ruins, but I'm glad I waited.  
_Dima, Maks, and Gav stared hopelessly at the cloud of dust.

_So, what exactly do you do, farm crops? Collect old people?  
_Nalus felt her optimism draining rapidly.

_How would you like to be on a team?  
_Dijkstra had been stringing an arrow and absent-mindedly let it sail unceremoniously to the ground.

_Yet another reason you'd fit in.  
_Chevelle felt her veins go ice-cold.

Lakoria reared up and threw its head into the ground, burrowing until its entire body was hidden. No one tracked the vibrations. No one ran to take a new position. The seven of them remained standing lifelessly. They weren't invincible.

Lakoria came out of the ground and slithered up and around a stone monument, shooting hot, purple liquid from its mouth onto the ground. Without emotion, it studied the scene. It re-grounded itself and opened its mouth wide to let out another hiss. Right then, when everyone happened to finally turn their heads, a blindingly white light shone in all directions from the mouth.

"She's in there!" someone said. No one remembered the details very clearly.  
"Raaaah!" everyone screamed, continuing their assault as if time had just resumed from being paused. Everyone but Eve.

Tears flowing down her cheeks, she looked hatefully at the beast who'd just swallowed the most important person in her life. Sword slices weren't going to kill it. Arrows couldn't even blind it. Any further fighting would just pointlessly exhaust her friends. If Lakoria didn't die right then, Bapple wouldn't make it back. If Bapple didn't come back, it was over.

Eve's eyes went completely white, and a mysterious breeze swept up her hair. She jabbed the handle of her staff into the ground and hastily drew a 5-pointed star circumscribed by a circle. Then she began chanting.

"Purge this enemy. Use me as your vessel..."

Nalus felt an overwhelming sense of gloom and turned around to notice Eve.

"...Open the gates of hell so that you may show yourself..."  
"What are you doing?!"

Eve didn't answer. She couldn't.

"...I offer myself. Release the darkness into this world again!"  
"Oh no. Oh no oh no."

The sun, clouds, and anything above them disappeared as an unsettling black mist covered the area. All present, including Lakoria, made confused glances upward. The symbol Eve had drawn in the ground started to glow brightly, and a gale of wind spiraled up around her.

"Damn it!" Nalus ran as quickly as she could manage and barged into Eve, knocking her halfway out of the circle and grabbing her hand. "Get out of the way!" she yelled at the others. They had no idea what was happening, but none chose to argue.

_**FFFFFFWOOOOOOOSHHHH!**_

Out from the ground came a monstrously-sized, translucent, black-purple snake head followed by the wave of similar terror that made up the rest of its body. Eve and Nalus were thrown a few yards away onto their backs as the last of its tail reached the fresh air. Everyone else had a distinct, dumbfounded, and frightened look as it flew into the sky, brushing against Lakoria and leaving a clean, steaming gash in its skin, causing the subsequent hiss of pain. Not wasting any time, the new snake darted toward Lakoria's head as it hissed and dove at the mouth. It would have gone inside the mouth if it didn't dwarf Lakoria in size; instead it went straight through the head, completely obliterating it and leaving only the still-squirming tail portion.

Then, just as soon as it'd come to annihilate Lakoria, it let out a truly demonic-sounding noise and vanished into a snake-shaped cloud of smoke. There was only silence, not even the breeze made any noise as it weaved through the trees.

Chevelle was the first to wake up from the bewilderment.

"Go check on those two," she pointed. "We'll find her," she elbowed Dijkstra and ran toward the wreckage.

**At Nalus and Eve...**

"Ugh" and "ow" were all Nalus could bring herself to say until the others showed up at her side. She couldn't lift any of her appendages. Maks was the first to reach her.

"Are you okay?"

"Okay, dumb question." He turned to Dima and Gav, who were kneeling by Eve. "Can we get another fire going?"  
"Two pinches of powder," Nalus whispered before conking out.

**At Lakoria's remains...**

"Never a dull moment with you guys," Chevelle carefully stepped through the entrails, goo, and skin. "I can see why you took a vacation. I'll need one, too, if we have much more excitement."  
"You fight well," Dijkstra peeked under a stray flap of skin.  
"You're a pretty good shot, yourself," she winked. "I can see why Bapple trusts you with her life."  
"Likewise."

Chevelle didn't answer. Thankfully for her, the silence was broken by a cough and a groan. Bapple, most of her outfit singed completely off, crawled out the whole part of what was left of Lakoria. Chevelle was at her side before she even noticed she'd started running.

"Look at you," she choked out, holding out her hand.  
"Bleh," Bapple coughed as she pulled herself to her feet. "What happened?"  
"We got you out, that's what. Did you expect any less?"  
"Right before I saw the sunlight, the paladin said there was an incredibly evil presence."  
"Ah, well, y'know."  
"Uh huh," Bapple couldn't stop a smile from creeping out. "So are you gonna hug me or what?"  
"You're kinda gross right now if you haven't noticed, but yeah I am."

Moments later, Deniz appeared from the forest with a blanket.

"I say thank you. We all say thank you. Here is old cloth from Kielu. Very old. Very warm."  
"Um, thank you," Bapple said. Then she noticed herself and turned red. "Oh, thank you!"  
"Don't worry, I'm the only one who got a peek," Chevelle said.  
"That makes me feel so much better," Bapple wrapped herself in the cloth. "Hey, would you mind? I think I gotta..." and she fell asleep while standing, lumbering forward into Chevelle's arms.

Chevelle carried the prize honeymoon-style triumphantly toward the others with Dijkstra close behind. Dima turned around, saw them, and almost tripped running over.

"I think this is yours," she dumped Bapple into Dima's arms. Dijkstra continued walking to the fire.  
"Thanks," he calmly looked at Bapple's face and continued. "Hey, I'm sorry about earlier."  
"Me too. Don't sweat it. Any word on those two?"  
"They're alive," he turned to look at Nalus and Eve, "but we need to get back sooner than later. How's she?"  
"You ever been eaten by a six-story snake?" Chevelle patted his shoulder and gestured for him to follow her to the campfire. "She's better off than them at least. Has no idea what happened, even less so than the rest of us I mean."  
"We'll keep it that way."


End file.
